


No Going Back To Yesterday

by Queen_in_the_North



Series: Edward Nigma, Private Investigator [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Arkham (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Eddie needs help, Gotham City Sirens mentioned, Mystery, Pre-New 52, Reformed Riddler, reluctant team up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-10-05 05:10:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 31,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10298246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_in_the_North/pseuds/Queen_in_the_North
Summary: Selina Kyle decides it's time to clear the air with her old frenemy Edward Nigma once and for all. Unfortunately, she'll have to find him first.





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward has a meeting with an informant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Here's part 2 of my Private Investigator series. This should be accessible for anyone who hasn't read part 1, but feel free to check out part 1 if you haven't already.

_“I could tell you my adventures—beginning from this morning, but it’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”_

 

Between the economic state of Gotham in general and the nocturnal presence of Batman and his associates, the Bowery District in Gotham saw a marked drop in traffic after night fell  .  Most of the people who would be out after dark were the sort of people who made a living in less than honest ways or were out for a less than savory purpose  . One such person was Edward Nigma.  On this particular night, the former rogue turned private investigator stood on the corner of North Broad and Main Street  . For the second time in five minutes, he checked his watch. He scowled. It was 12:45 am and his informant was over a half hour late.  His experience with Hugo Strange two months earlier had reminded him of the benefits of having an information network in Gotham City, but dealing with the actual informants was trying at the best of times.

With an impatient huff, Edward paced down the sidewalk and reached up to wipe sweat from his brow. Edward hated Gotham in the summertime. He hated it during the winter too, but that was a different beast altogether. Late summer in Gotham was  ungodly  hot and the humidity stuck to the skin like a heavy blanket.  It almost made Edward regret leaving behind his spandex for his heavier, if more fashionable, suits. Almost. 

A noise from the alley interrupted Edward's reflections on his past fashion choices. He tightened his grip on his cane, but loosened it as soon as he saw a disheveled figure emerge from the shadows. Edward narrowed his eyes. "You're late."

The man shuffled over to Edward, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry boss. I got hung up with the rest of the guys on-"

Edward held a hand out to cut him him off. "I don't need to know the minutiae. What have you been able to find out?"

The informant blinked, then continued. "Right. It's just like you thought boss. He's held up in that building down the street." He pointed to a dingy building not too far from the both of them. It looked as run down and unassuming as any other abandoned building in the Bowery, save for the flashing 'Live Nudes' sign. Classy.

"He's got about half a dozen guys working for him," the informant continued. "They'll be pulling a job in a few days. And he's got a girl in there too."

Edward nodded. So far his hunch was panning out. "And you're sure he's not on to you?"

"I'm sure boss." The informant turned away from his gaze, looking around nervously. "At least, I'm pretty sure."

Edward rolled his eyes at the display. He really needed to develop a stricter system for recruiting informants. Still, he supposed the man had served his purpose. "Very well. That will be all."

The informant gave Edward a confused look. "Are you still going to go talk to him?"

"Believe me, I didn't come out here in the dead of night just to pass the time in your charming company," Edward snapped.

The informant looked like he wanted to retort, but said nothing. Edward turned away from the informant and started to walk towards the building. 

"Do you want me to come with you boss?" he heard his informant ask.

"No," Edward answered, not bothering to turn around. "Your part in this caper is over. I'd lie low for a few days if I were you. If I need anything else, I'll contact you."

Edward didn't hear or see his informant's response. Instead, he made his way up to the building his informant had pointed out. Most people would should caution in this sort of situation, but Edward Nigma was far from most people. He knew the man who was in that building and what he was capable of and he knew that he could easily best him, if it came to that point. Edward doubted it would. He briskly walked up the steps that led to a side door. He rapped his cane against the door.

"Anyone home?" he called out.

Almost immediately, the door opened. In front of Edward stood a large, unarmed man who looked more than a bit surprised to see the former rogue on his door step.

Edward tipped his hat to the man. "Greetings. I'd like a word with your boss. Is he in?"

The man stood silent for a moment until a voice from further inside called out.

"Let him in."

The man stood aside to let Edward pass. As soon as Edward walked inside, the door slammed shut behind him.

Edward Nigma didn't come out after that.

 


	2. Selina Kyle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Selina decides it's finally time to bury the hatchet with Edward, but runs into a mystery instead.

_Three Days Later_

That Thursday afternoon was a rare occurrence in Gotham City. It was a day in which the Gotham City Sirens were engaged in no mischief, criminal or any other kind. The three notorious women had decided to spend the day in, catching up on housework in Poison Ivy's case, dealing with their finances in Selina Kyle's case and finally in the case of Harley Quinn, wasting the day away playing video games. She was sitting on the couch still wearing her pajamas and completely engrossed in her racing game. Selina occasionally looked up from her computer to offer advice.

"They're starting to gain on you Harley. Use the oil slick."

"Relax, I got this Kitty." No sooner had she said that, Harley found herself knocked back into second place.

"Hit the gas," Selina advised.

Harley bit her lip in concentration. "Stop back seat driving me!"

"You really shouldn't encourage her Selina," Pamela added.

"Ha! I'm back in first again!" The finish line was straight ahead. Harley would pass it in less than three seconds, or would have if the driver in last place hadn't deployed their grenade. Harley's kart was blown off the track and back into fifth place as the GAME OVER screen came up.

"No!!" Harley wailed, throwing her controller onto the floor in disgust. "I was so close to beating my high score! I hate those stupid grenades!" She leaned back against the sofa with a huff.

Pamela rolled her eyes and went back to tending her plants on the other side of the living room. "You spend too much time playing that stupid game anyway Harley."

"Well, I'm _bored_!" Harley whined, stretching her arms above her head. "We should go out and do something!"

"Harley, the last time we went out and 'did something', we were in a three-hour police chase and we had a cow in the back seat of the car."

Harley stuck out her tongue. "You're no fun anymore Red." She then turned her attention to the third member of their trio. "You want to go do something Kitty?"

Selina looked up for a moment from her vantage point at the dining room table. "I'm kind of busy right now Harls. Maybe later." Selina went back to her laptop.

Harley got up and walked over to where Selina was sitting. "Whatcha working on anyway?"

"Just going over my bank account," Selina answered. Harley looked over Selina's shoulder while she watched her scroll down the page.

"You doing all right?" she asked.

Selina reached up and gave Harley a friendly pat on the head. "I'm doing fine. I've got more money than I thought I would actually." When she reached the bottom of the page, she frowned a bit. "That would explain why. Eddie never cashed that check I gave him."

Harley winced a bit. "Gee, you don't think he's still mad about that whole Aesop thing, do ya?"

"So what if he is?" Pamela interjected. "We don't owe him anything. Let the man-child sulk."

Harley's face fell. "Aww. I miss Eddie."

Selina would never admit it, but she missed him too. She and Edward had had their differences over the years, but since he'd reformed, she'd come to see him as the unofficial fourth member of the Gotham City Sirens. An unwilling member of the group at times, but still. The incident with Dr. Aesop and Edward's withdrawal from them had hurt Selina more than she thought it would. She'd tried calling Edward several times since, but he'd always either hung up on her or gotten his secretary to cover for him. She'd put off actually seeing him in person, especially since he'd taken Quincy Sharp's case and gotten himself national headlines for his role in foiling that murderer.

Selina closed the browser window and shut the laptop down. Three months of silent treatment from the former rogue was more than enough. "You know what? I think it's time to pay Eddie a visit."

Harley clapped her hands as Selina got up and walked over to the hall closet. "Yay! Just like old times! Should we get him a present?"

"Let's hold off on that for now Harley." Selina answered as she pulled out her expensive heels. "I think we should start slow. I'll go see him myself. I think we might overwhelm him if we all go together."

Harley pouted, but nodded. "Yeah. He always did like you best anyway. But say hi for me and Red, will ya?"

"I will." Selina grabbed her purse and headed towards the front door. As she did, she walked past Pamela watering her roses.

"I still think this is a bad idea Selina," she warned. "You know how Riddler gets when he thinks he's been slighted."

Selina laughed her off. "Relax Pam. It's Eddie. How long can he hold a grudge?"

 

 

* * *

 

As she approached Edward's office, Selina still wasn't sure what she was going to say to the man. He'd be angry with her, she was sure about that. He'd been angry with her before of course and she'd been angry with him plenty of times, but they'd always managed to find their way back to each other. Why should now be any different?

 Selina confidently strolled up the stairs and found herself at the front door of the E. Nigma Detective Agency. She paused only for a moment to collect her thoughts. She'd need to be on her A-Game in case Eddie went into one of his tantrums. "Just hear me out Eddie," Selina murmured. "I deserve that much, don't I?"

Selina opened the door to find a blond girl chatting away on the office phone line. Edward's newest secretary no doubt. "I know, right? God, what was she thinking wearing that to a wedding? Artie had an absolute fit..."

Selina's gaze narrowed as the girl continued to chat away to the person on the other end of the line. Clearly, Eddie's hiring standards had dipped. After two minutes of not being acknowledged, Selina cleared her throat. 

The girl looked up from the desk with a start. "Tiff, I'll call you back." She awkwardly got up to greet Selina at long last. "Welcome to E. Nigma Detective Agency. I'm sorry, but Mr. Nigma's not taking any cases right now."

"I'm not here to hire him," Selina explained. "Tell your boss an old friend's here to see him."

The secretary's face took on a nervous expression. "I'm sorry, but Mr. Nigma's not in right now."

Of course he wasn't. That was fine. Selina was a patient woman. "I can wait here for him. When will he be back?"

The secretary shrugged. "I don't know."

Selina raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, you don't know? You're his secretary, aren't you? Is he out working a case? Is he out of town?"

"I don't know," the secretary answered defensively. "He told me Monday evening when he left to hold any calls for him. He hasn't been back since. He hasn't called either."

Selina frowned. Monday evening? It was Thursday afternoon now. "So, you haven't seen or heard from your boss in three days, and you're not just a little bit concerned?"

The secretary just shrugged. "Not..really? I mean, he's kind of a weird guy, you know? Why, should I have called the cops or something?"

Selina rubbed the bridge of her nose. "No, don't call the cops. Just tell me, what was he working on last?"

The secretary's face scrunched up. "I can't tell you that. Mr. Nigma made me sign a confidentiality agreement when he hired me. If I tell you about his cases, he'll fire me!"

 _If Eddie saw you tying up his office phone line like you were when I walked in, he'd fire you,_ Selina thought. She had a feeling though that blunt honesty wouldn't work with this girl. She decided to put on the charm instead. "Hey, what Mr. Nigma doesn't know won't hurt us, right? Besides, I told you I'm an old friend of his. I'm sure he wouldn't mind you helping me out."

The secretary looked a little wary at her. "I don't even know your name."

Selina smiled. "Where are my manners? Selina Kyle."

The secretary's face lit up in recognition. "Oh, you're Miss Kyle! Yeah, Mr. Nigma's told me all about you. Hold on, he told me if you ever dropped by to give you something." She reached back into her desk drawer to pull out an envelope. She passed it to Selina with a chipper smile on her face. "Here you are!"

Selina took the envelope and opened it to find a piece of personalized stationary and what looked like...confetti? As she empitied it out, she realized that the scraps were actually the shredded remains of the check she'd written out to him three months earlier. That wasn't a good sign. She turned her attention to the ostentatious piece of stationary. There was a message written on the front of it in green ink:  _'Dear' Selina: Drop dead. Sincerest Regards, Edward Nigma._

Selina glared. She liked Edward, she really did, but he was a stubborn little brat when he put his mind to it. "You're a prince Eddie. A real prince."

"Will that be all, Ms. Kyle?" the secretary asked. 

Selina nodded, then gave the secretary her card. "If your boss comes back or calls you, call me right away, ok?" 

The secretary looked confused, but took the card. "Sure, I guess. Have a nice rest of your day!"

"Too late," Selina muttered as she left the office. So much for burying the hatchet. As she walked down the stairs, Selina was struck by how odd it was that Eddie had left his office unattended for so long. Sure, he had a habit of disappearing when he was working on something taxing, but to not even bother checking in with his secretary? That wasn't like him. When she made it outside of the building and back onto the street, Selina hesitated. It was probably nothing, she thought. Eddie either forgot to check in with the office or his secretary forgot what he was up to. It wasn't any concern of Selina's anyway. Eddie's note had made it quite clear where he stood on their relationship. She'd just try again some other time. She walked down the street towards her car, then stopped. _Then again..._ Eddie's apartment was just a twenty minute walk away and she had nothing better to do.

* * *

 

Selina rapped her knuckles against the door. "Eddie? Are you in?" There was no response. Either he really was out, or he was doing a very good job of ignoring her. She knocked again, a little more insistently. "Come on Eddie, this is getting old!" Selina was beginning to get tired of this little game. She reached into her purse to pull out a lock pick. If Eddie pitched a fit about her breaking in, she could deal with it. At least she would be able to finally talk to him. As she grabbed a hold of the door knob however, she realized that the door was unlocked.

Selina prided herself on her intuition. Right now, it was screaming at her that something was very wrong. She opened the door and walked into the apartment. "Eddie?" she called out again. "You'd better not be dead in here!"

There was no sign of Edward Nigma, alive or dead, anywhere in the apartment. In fact, apart from the papers scattered about and the faint aroma of stale coffee coming from the kitchen, there was no sign that anyone had been in recently. Selina carefully took stock of the apartment as she wandered around. She took note of the pictures on his living room wall. They were mostly newspaper clippings of his solved cases. Selina also noticed a few conspicuously empty spots. She wondered if there had been pictures of her hanging there before. Maybe, maybe not. Nothing else appeared to be missing from the living room at least. No signs of a struggle either.

Selina walked into Edward's bedroom. The bed was fully made. Eddie's closet door was wide open. When Selina went to check inside, all she noticed were a few empty hangers, where shirts, jackets and dress pants may have been hung up. Edward's suitcase was still present however. If he had left town, he'd packed lightly. Satisfied that nothing else had been taken Selina walked back to the living room.

She sighed as she took one last look around the small apartment. If something had happened to Eddie, it didn't seem like it had happened here. If something had happened to him at all. 

She was just about to leave the apartment when she caught sight of two books on Eddie's coffee table. Curiosity piqued, Selina went over to take a look. The first book she picked up was an Arkham medical journal, with a bookmark sticking out of it. The words 'Property of Dr. Penelope Young' were displayed prominently on the cover. Selina frowned. How and why did Eddie get his hands on this? As she flipped through the pages with the bookmark, the answer became clear to her. He'd been reading through this Dr. Young's old patient notes on him. One particular passage had been underlined. _'I believe conventional treatment has gone as far as it can with Edward Nigma. He shows no regard for his own well being or for the lives of others. If this level of mental deterioration continues, I fear that his stay in Arkham may become permanent.'_

Disturbed, Selina set the journal back down on the coffee table. Eddie was digging into his past. That wasn't a good sign. She then turned her attention to the book that had already been opened. At first glance, it appeared to be a scrapbook of newspaper clippings. As Selina flipped through the pages, she realized that these were clippings of his past escapades as the Riddler. 

"Oh Eddie," Selina sighed. "What have you done?"


	3. Oswald Cobblepot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Selina informs Oswald of the situation and the two formulate a plan.

 

Thursday night wasn't a peak night for the Iceberg Lounge, but there was still a fair crowd inside. As she sauntered up to the Maitre d', Selina noticed that the wait time for a table in the dinner by room was over an hour. Luckily, she didn't need a reservation. She walked past the line of people in formal wear waiting for a table and stopped directly in front of the snooty young man in the pressed tuxedo.

"I'd like to see Mr. Cobblepot."

The man didn't even spare her a glance. "Name?"

"Selina Kyle."

At the mention of her name, the Maitre d' looked up to meet her gaze in an instant. "Oh yes, Ms. Kyle! Mr. Cobblepot is expecting you. Please, follow me."

Selina did as she was bid and followed the young man into the restaurant. The low hum of people mixed with classical music gave off a dignified air. The lounge was dimly lit as was appropriate for late evening, but as she walked past, Selina could see various members of Gotham's elite sitting just feet away from members of the Maroni crime family. Selina observed this with a wry smirk. If there was any place that served as the Melting Pot of Gotham, then that place was the Iceberg Lounge. Finally, she was stopped at a round table positioned directly under the glass dome of the lounge, where she could see the familiar rotund figure of Oswald Cobblepot waiting for her.

"Ah, Selina!" he greeted her jovially. "Please, sit down." The Maitre d' pulled out a plush chair for Selina and she sat down. Oswald snapped his fingers at the young man. "Peter, a bottle of the Château Pétrus for myself and Miss Kyle."

The Maite d' nodded. "Right away Mr. Cobblepot."

"So," Oswald said, turning to Selina as the Maitre d' left. "I must admit, it was a pleasant surprise to hear from you this evening. How have you been?"

"I can't complain," Selina answered. The Maitre d' returned with the bottle of wine and two wine glasses. He placed them down in front of the two people seated at the table and disappeared back to the front of the restaurant. 

Oswald popped open the cork and poured Selina a glass before helping himself. "Well then, what can I do for you tonight?"

Selina took a sip and savored the taste. Oswald always did have the best taste when it came to the finer things in life. "I need to talk to you about Eddie."

"Oh?" Oswald asked. "What about Edward?"

"Have you seen him lately?"

"I can't say that I have. He's been a bit distant as of late," Oswald answered, taking a sip of his wine. After he was finished, he set the glass down and gave her a serious look. "Would you care to tell me why?"

Selina shook her head. "So, you know about the whole Dr. Aesop thing."

"My dear, everyone knows about the 'whole Dr. Aesop thing.' That was a shabby thing to do Selina. Utterly shabby."

Selina rolled her eyes a bit at the tone in Oswald's voice. "Oh come on Ozzie, Eddie was never in any real trouble. The girls and I were right outside the whole time." She took another sip of the wine. Damn, Oswald had good taste. "Besides," she said in a low tone, "You're no stranger to using Eddie yourself. I don't seem to remember the two of you being friends before he lost his memories."

Oswald huffed. "I'll admit, I didn't start out with the best motives, but I have become genuinely fond of the man. He's about the only person I can have any kind of civilized conversation with after all. I'd rather not see him hurt if I can help it. But we're getting a bit off track here. Why do you need to locate Edward? Apart from begging for forgiveness, that is."

Selina ignored the last barb and took a careful look to make sure that no one around them was listening. When she was satisfied their conversation wouldn't be overheard, she leaned in closer to Oswald. "I was at his office earlier this afternoon. His secretary said that he hasn't been in for three days."

Oswald raised an eyebrow. "Odd, but not unheard of for our mutual friend. I assume you went to his apartment?"

"I did. His door was unlocked. Nothing was really missing, but he had two books on his coffee table. One of them was an Arkham doctor's journal and one was a scrapbook of his Riddler days. I think he's starting to dig around in his past."

Oswald took a long sip of his wine glass. "This is concerning," he said gravely. "Was there any hint of where he may have gone?"

"None," Selina said. "I stopped by Pandora's Box before I called you. No one there's seen or heard from him in over two months. He hasn't been at any of his other old haunts either. It's like he's completely disappeared."

Oswald said nothing for a moment, instead lighting his cigarette. He took a long drag on it before addressing her. "This is rather unfortunate. And you're certain nothing was missing from his apartment? Was there any sign of a struggle?"

"None," Selina said. "The only thing I noticed missing were a few clothes from his closet. It's like he just left one day and never came back. But I can't get past the door. If Eddie really did decide one day to go back to crime, why would he leave his door unlocked? There's something more going on here Ozzie. I can just feel it."

Oswald sat there, his hands folded in front of his face. "So either he's gone back to his old ways or he's gotten in over his head on a case. Whichever one it is, we need to find him and quick."

Selina nodded. "So, any ideas where to start?"

Oswald took another drag of his cigarette. "Well, I'm fairly confident that he's not already in jail or in the hospital. We'd know if that was the case. I'll get the word out to my men to be on the look out for him. I can also reach out to Ms. Vance and Ms. Damfino just to see if they've kept in touch. It would help to know exactly what he was working on last."

"His secretary gave me the whole 'confidentiality agreement' spiel when I asked her. I may have to go back later tonight and find out the hard way."

Oswald looked slightly aghast. "Break into his files? My dear, if he wasn't on speaking terms with you before, he certainly won't be after that!"

"Well, what else do you want me to do?" Selina snapped. "If Eddie's in danger, we don't have the time to comb through all of Gotham!"

"I understand that my dear," Oswald said. "But we also can't afford to attract any attention from the authorities. The GCPD especially wouldn't hesitate to throw him back into Arkham. We have to be extremely careful how we approach this."

Selina hated to admit it, but Oswald had a point. Eddie wasn't going to go back to Arkham, not if she had anything to say about it. "So what do we do?"

"If the secretary won't talk about his cases specifically, perhaps she could tell us who he spoke with last." he said in thought. "We could also look at it from another angle: who has Edward crossed who might want to see him harmed?"

Selina let out a half-hearted laugh. "Ozzie, the better question is who _hasn't_ he crossed."

Oswald winced a bit. "Noted. Are you sure that your two friends aren't involved?"

"Ozzie, I live with them. If either of them were involved, I'd know it. What about any of the old Arkham crew? Are any of them out?"

"I have it on good authority that Dent's on the loose. He's made his opinion on Edward's reform rather clear. Tetch is out too last I heard. But I don't think he'd try anything. Weren't he and Edward on good terms?"

Selina shook her head. "Eddie was only civil to him because of Crane." A thought then occurred to Selina. "Speaking of Spooky, are we sure he's dead?"

Oswald looked surprised that she'd even asked. "It's been over a year Selina," he said in a peevish tone. "If he's alive, he's gone so deep underground that even my connections haven't been able to unearth him. Besides, how much of that affair does Edward even remember?"

"He remembers enough," Selina answered. She wished she could forget the day she'd had to tell Eddie what had happened to Jonathan Crane. She willed the memory down with another sip of wine. "Maybe Eddie found out something. That could explain why he left so abruptly."

"And he abandoned everything and everyone in his life to run off with the Scarecrow?" Oswald asked acerbically. "That's a bit maudlin for Edward, don't you think?"

Selina shrugged. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Oswald shook his head. "I'm not one to judge, but I never could understand what exactly Edward saw in that man," he muttered under his breath. He took another sip of wine. "Elliot's still in Arkham, thankfully. I think that's the biggest threat Edward has."

"And what about any friends Eddie has?"

Oswald chuckled. "Selina my dear, I believe we are the only people Edward can call friends in Gotham."

Selina sighed. "Great." She took another sip of wine and considered their options. Ivy would sooner burn down a rain forest than help Edward Nigma. Harley would help, but she tended to attract as much trouble as Eddie himself did. As for allies on the other side of the law...Selina pursed her lips. Unless Eddie had gotten into some deep trouble with a mobster or another rogue, they weren't an option. If Eddie really was slipping, the presence of Bruce and his kids would only make the situation worse. It looked like it was up to her and Oswald to find Eddie. Naturally. As she thought back to what she'd discovered in Eddie's apartment, there was one thing that still bothered her.

"Ozzie, has Eddie ever mentioned a Dr. Penelope Young to you?"

Oswald shook his head. "Not that I can recall. I thought Joan Leland was his doctor."

"She is, at least she was. But it was Dr. Young's journal that was in Eddie's apartment. I didn't think he was on speaking terms with anyone in the Arkham staff."

Oswald took another puff of his cigarette. "If I recall the story properly, Edward was instrumental in preventing an Arkham doctor from being murdered at Sharp's memorial debacle. Perhaps she is that doctor."

Which would mean she'd owe Eddie a favor. Interesting. "Why would she give him her Arkham journal though? As a thank you?"

"That is a riddle, isn't it?"

It was a riddle worth asking, Selina thought. That was potentially dangerous though. If the GCPD couldn't be trusted to act in Eddie's best interest, then an Arkham employee certainly couldn't either. Still, Selina couldn't help but feel like she'd heard that name from somewhere. And how and why exactly had Eddie made contact with her? First thing was first however. Selina pushed back her chair and stood up.

"Thanks for seeing me Oswald. I'm going to go back to my place and suit up. Maybe some people would be more willing to talk to Catwoman than to little old Selina Kyle."

"Thank you for bring this to my attention, Selina. I don't think I need to tell you to be careful in how you go about this. Be as subtle as you can. If I find anything out on my end, I'll let you know."

* * *

 

As Selina walked out of the Iceberg Lounge and into the warm summer night she faced two choices, both of which had their pros and cons. After getting her things, she could go back to Eddie's office and break into his file cabinet. That at least could give her a hint as to what he was working on that might have gotten him in trouble. However, if the secretary found out, there was the potential that the police could get called and Eddie's fate would be out of her hands. That and Oswald was right. If she broke into his files, Eddie really would never speak to her again. She almost didn't see the point in chasing after him if she would just wind up losing him anyway. Then there was the Dr. Young business. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that she'd heard her name before. Maybe it was just the wine talking. Maybe not. 

When she reached her car, Selina pulled out her phone and dialed a number. The phone rang three times before being picked up.

"Hiya Kitty! Did you see Eddie?"

For a brief moment, Selina contemplated telling Harley the truth. Oswald was right though. The less attention Selina brought to this, the better.

"Sorry Harley," she said. "Eddie was out on a case. I'm heading back for a bit. I need to run a few...errands tonight."

Harley didn't miss the implication. "Ooh, sounds fun. Want me and Red to help?"

"No, this kitty's going solo tonight. One more thing though: do you remember a Dr. Young from Arkham?"

There was a brief moment of silence before Harley answered. "Dr. Young? Sure I remember her! She's the snobby doc that made the TITAN crap for Mr. J!"

Seline knew she'd heard that name before. "Is she still at Arkham?"

"Nah, she quit after the whole riot thing. Guess Ms. High and Mighty couldn't take the heat after all. What do you want to know about her for?"

Selina smiled. So she wasn't at Arkham anymore and she owed Eddie. Selina knew what she'd be doing that night. "I've been feeling a little stressed out. I think I need to schedule an appointment."


	4. Dr. Young

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Selina meets Dr. Young and an unlikely partnership forms.

Selina was surprised by how easy it was to find the former head of Arkham Research. According to her last known address, Dr. Young lived on the second floor of an old Brownstone apartment building in Downtown Gotham. In the dead of night, Selina scaled the walls of the building and stopped at a window on the second floor. She took a moment to look inside. The apartment was dark with no sign of life inside. Selina took the tips of her gloves and cut out a hole in the window. Slowly, she reached inside and unlatched the window. With one graceful movement, Selina pushed up the windowpane and vaulted into the apartment.  It appeared that she had wound up in Dr. Young's living room. Selina took stock of the empty apartment. Even if the doctor herself was out, Selina might be able to find a clue about how she and Edward knew each other.  There were little in the way of personal mementos in the room apart from diplomas hung on the walls a few pictures of an older couple on the shelf. Wandering over to the coffee table in the middle of the room, Selina found a stack of files neatly organized. She picked the top one off of the pile and began to read through it.  _CONFIDENTIAL. THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF MY SESSION WITH PHILLIP AVERY, CONDUCTED IN MY CAPACITY AS A CONSULTANT FOR THE GOTHAM CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT-_

Selina threw down the file. _Shit._ Dr. Young wasn't at Arkham anymore, she was at GCPD! She'd be about as useful helping Eddie as Thomas Elliott. _Guess it's off to Eddie's office,_ Selina thought. Time to get out before the doctor came back-

The lights in the living room suddenly turned on. "Don't move."

Too late. Selina slowly turned to look at the source of the noise. She saw a woman standing in the doorway to what she assumed was the bedroom, still dressed in work clothes, aiming a taser at her.  "Dr. Young, I presume?" she asked, slowly lowering her hand to where her whip was tied around her hips.

Dr. Young was younger than Selina thought she would be. Prettier too, although her dark hair was tied back in a severe and Selina thought unflattering bun. She could see how she might have piqued Eddie's interest. "Yes," she confirmed. There was little emotion in her blue eyes, but her body language was tense. "How did you find me?"

"I have my ways," Selina drawled, daring to take a step closer. Dr. Young took a step back, holding her taser out higher. Selina had to laugh a bit. "Please, I've had worse things pointed at me. Look, I'm-"

"I know who you are," Dr. Young said. "Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman. You're a notorious thief. You're also a friend of Harley Quinn." The doctor's face was blank, but the tremor in her voice betrayed her fear.

"Relax Dr. Young," Selina said in a tone as smooth as silk. "I'm not here because of Harley or what happened at the Asylum. I just came here to talk to you."

"You broke into my apartment just to talk? What could you possibly have to say to me?"

"It's about Edward Nigma."

The disdainful expression on Dr. Young's face was replaced with one of surprise. She was so surprised, she lowered her taser. "Edward Nigma? Why do you need to talk to me about Edward Nigma?"

Selina let her grip on the handle of her whip loosen. "I need to find him. Have you seen him lately?"

Dr. Young shook her head. "No, not since the Arkham Memorial-I don't understand. What's going on? Why do you need to find him and why did you think I'd know where he was?"

Selina took a quick breath and considered her next words carefully. One wrong word and the Dr. would go running to Commissioner Gordon. "I just want to check up on him. He hasn't been around lately. I found your journal in his apartment. I thought maybe you had some kind of relationship-"

"We don't have a relationship. He stole that from me after he broke into my office two months ago," Dr. Young harshly interrupted. "Are you saying that Nigma's gone missing?" 

 _Damn._ "I see Eddie hasn't lost his way with the ladies," Selina joked.

Dr. Young wasn't going for it. It seemed that lacking a sense of humor was a job requirement for Arkham staff. "You haven't answered my question. What's going on with Edward Nigma?"

Selina sighed. The serious doctor had left her no choice but to let the cat out of the bag. "I went to visit him at his office today. His secretary told me that he hasn't been in since Monday. None of his other friends and contacts have seen him. There wasn't any sign of him at his apartment either."

Dr. Young nodded along. "And you found my journal there. Did it look like he'd been reading it?"

Selina wet her lip. "Yes."

Dr. Young placed the taser down onto an adjacent shelf with her right hand and took her face into her left hand. "I should have known," she murmured. She took a breath to collect herself and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a cell phone and began dialing.

Selina furrowed her brow. "What are you doing?"

Dr. Young looked back at her. "What does it look like? I'm calling Commissioner Gordon."

Well. Selina couldn't have that. She pulled out her whip and swung the tip of it against the floor. The loud crack startled Dr. Young and nearly caused her to drop her phone. She looked at Selina with wide eyes.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Doc," Selina warned. "Eddie's a friend of mine." Well, was but what the doctor didn't know wouldn't hurt her. "I don't feel like seeing him thrown back in Arkham."

The look of surprise on Dr. Young's face gave way to one of anger. "Don't you dare threaten me, Ms. Kyle," she warned. "Not only has Edward Nigma been reading my files on himself, you just said that he's missing. If he's even entertaining going back to his former lifestyle, lives are at stake here!"

"You don't know that," Selina argued. "For all you know, Eddie could have run into trouble on a case. He could have been kidnapped." 

"So, the best case scenario is that he's been abducted while working a case? That doesn't exactly change my mind about calling Gordon."

"You consult with the GCPD, Doc. Just how many of them are willing to lift a finger to help Eddie?" Dr. Young's silence told Selina all that she needed to know. Sensing an advantage, Selina pressed on. "Look, I'll be completely honest with you. I think we both know that this isn't just his best chance at going straight. This is his only chance. If Eddie gets sent back to Arkham, that's it. He'll be the Riddler forever. Do you want that on your conscience?"

Dr. Young glared at her. "I'm not responsible for Edward Nigma. Neither are you. If there's any chance that he's relapsing, the proper authorities need to be informed. Not just for Gotham's sake, but his too."

"I know damn well I'm not responsible for Eddie," Selina growled. "But if you call in the GCPD and Eddie turns out to be in real trouble, you could wind up destroying his life. Can you live with that? He's been reformed for a year now. Hasn't he earned just one benefit of the doubt?"

Dr. Young fell silent again and bit her lip. She seemed to be waging an internal debate with herself while Selina waited for a response. Finally she let out a sigh and shoved her phone back into her pocket. "24 hours," she said. "If we don't find him or make some kind of contact with him by then, I'm going to Gordon."

Selina raised an eyebrow. "We? I don't remember inviting you along."

The doctor fixed her with a cold stare. "Those are my terms. If Edward is having some sort of mental health crisis, I'm more equipped to handle that than you."

Selina very much doubted that but didn't want to waste any more time arguing with the other woman. "Fine. But you follow my lead. This could get dangerous and I'm not here to protect you."

"That's fine," Dr. Young answered. "I can go through his case files and see what he was working on before he disappeared."

That was just fine with Selina. She could barely understand Edward's writing anyway. "Great. I'll go to his office and get them for you."

"You're going to break in and steal them? I thought you didn't want attention from the authorities."

Selina rolled her eyes. "Oh come on Doc, you're not going to snitch on me, are you?"

Dr. Young pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'll get his files. Come back here in the morning and I'll have his case load from the last month ready."

Selina gave the other woman a skeptical look. "And just how are you going to convince her to hand them over to you?"

"I'll think of something. Come back here at 11:00 am. Through the front door this time, if you please. I'll be waiting."

Selina tied her whip back around her waist and turned to leave. She could use the time between now and then to check back in with Oswald. Before she left, she gave Dr. Young a warning glare.

"Just remember our deal, Dr. Young. 24 hours. Don't try to double cross me."

Dr. Young glared back at her. "I won't, as long as you don't try to double cross me."

Selina left through the open living room window, both women feeling wary and wondering just what they had gotten into.

* * *

 

As soon as she climbed out of the window, Selina scaled the walls of the Brownstone and settled onto the roof. She took advantage of the solitude to call Oswald to update him on the situation. He was less than pleased when he heard about Dr. Young's involvement.

_"A consultant with GCPD!? And you're letting her help investigate?"_

"It's not like she gave me much of a choice Ozzie," Selina defended. "Besides, having someone on the inside helping out could be a good thing."

 _"And just how do you know she's not going to go running to Gordon with what you told her?"_ Oswald groused on the other line.

"I don't," Selina admitted. "That's why I'll be monitoring the police scanner tonight, just in case. But remember Ozzie, this is the same woman who didn't go running to the police when she found out she was making a monster formula for the Joker. I think she'll be true to her word." _She had better be,_ Selina thought. _If she turns Eddie over to the cops, I'll make her wish Joker had killed her._

 _"Very well,"_ Oswald said.  _"I've informed Ms. Vance and Ms. Damfino of the situation. Edward hasn't been in touch with them lately, but they'll be on on their way to Gotham tomorrow morning. Ms. Damfino in particular would like to have words with you."_

Selina groaned. Just what she needed to deal with, a protective and probably angry, Query and Echo. "Fine, Ozzie. I'll let you know what the Doc and I find out tomorrow." Selina hung up the phone and tilted her head back, looking into the Gotham skylight. The city was still bright with light even at this time of night. In a way, it was almost comforting. She wondered if Eddie, wherever he was, had the same view as she did. She hoped he did.

"Wherever you are Eddie, I hope you appreciate what I'm doing for you."

 

* * *

The next morning, at 11:00 precisely, Selina stood outside the front door of Dr. Young's apartment. There had been no mention of Eddie on the GCPD scanner last night, so Dr. Young at least had kept her word about keeping quiet. Selina rapped her knuckles against the door. "Knock knock, Doctor Young," she called out.

"The door is open," the doctor's voice answered from the other side.

Selina opened the door and entered the apartment. It was just as spartan in the daylight as it was at night, she noted. She crossed the living room into Dr. Young's cramped kitchen, where she spotted her sitting, nose deep in a file, at her dining room table, surrounded by two large file boxes. Selina's eyes lit up. It looked like Dr. Young had proved as good as her word.

Selina let out an appreciative whistle. "Nice. What psychological tricks did you use to get Eddie's secretary to give you this?"

Dr. Young didn't look up at her but instead to continue reading through a file. "I...might have mentioned that I was with GCPD and that if she didn't cooperate, I'd come back with a search warrant."

Selina laughed. She could just imagine the look on that girl's face. Selina pulled out a chair. "You want some help with that stack?"

"No, I'm almost done. Here," Dr. Young pushed another box toward Selina. "You can start looking through this box."

Selina looked at the contents warily. "I though you were only going to get his files from the last month. What is this, everything Eddie's worked on this year?"

Dr. Young looked up at her then, a hint of concern on her face. "No. This is everything he's done in the last month."

If she had been anyone else, Selina might have though she was joking. Selina pulled out the file folders out of the box and began thumbing through them. She must be holding at least a dozen. "I know Eddie's a bit of a workaholic and he probably got a lot more attention after the Sharp thing, but when has he been sleeping?"

"I'm not sure he has," Dr. Young answered. "Has he been having any financial problems that you're aware of? That could explain why he's been taking on so many cases."

Possibly, but if Eddie needed money that badly, why wouldn't he go to Oswald? Or just cash the check she gave him? Was he that prideful? Selina sighed. Yes, yes he was. "I don't think so."

Dr. Young put the file she was reading down and folded her hands under her chin. "Maybe this is some kind of coping mechanism. He could be taking on such a large workload to distract himself from any emotional issues he's been having. Or this could be another manifestation of his compulsive behavior."

Selina shifted  in her seat, becoming uncomfortable by the turn this conversation was taking. "Tell you what, when we find him doc, you can pick his brain apart all you like. Did you find anything interesting in those files?"

This question snapped the doctor out of her musings. "Most of these cases are infidelity cases. There were one or two spouses who were angry, but I doubt any of them could be a serious threat." Dr. Young pulled out a file from the middle of her stack. "This one was interesting though." She slid the file towards the middle of the table so Selina could get a better look. "Edw-Mr. Nigma, took a case regarding a break in at a warehouse on 22nd Avenue about two weeks ago. Last week though, he returned his client's money and closed the case. There's no mention of why though."

Selina leaned forward to read the file. "Eddie's not one to give up and offer a refund. Something must have spooked him." Selina read through the notes a bit more carefully. The warehouse was located in the Industrial district of Gotham, a favorite hangout for weapons smugglers and the rogues who dealt with them. She took a closer look at the address and did a double take. 22nd Avenue? Selina had a very good idea of what, or rather who, Eddie might have been afraid of. She took the file from Dr. Young. "That's worth a look." In turn she, handed a folder over to Dr. Young. "I've got cheaters in my stack too, but here's a missing persons case. This is the last case Eddie took before he disappeared."

Dr. Young read over it. "Kimberly Bierko, age 19. Went missing six days ago while out for a job interview. Her mother, Mrs. Heather Bierko, came to Nigma and offered him money to find her." Dr. Young put the file down. "I think these two cases are our best leads. I'll go speak to the mother, if you want to check out the warehouse."

Selina got up out of her chair. "Sounds good to me," she said. "I'll be back later tonight." She gave the doctor a cheeky grin. "You know, if you ever get tired of helping the GCPD out, we could make a pretty good team together doc."

Dr. Young rolled her eyes. "Don't push your luck Ms. Kyle."

 


	5. Mrs. Bierko

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Young speaks with Edward's last client and examines her own motives for helping Edward Nigma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I apologize for the relative shortness of this chapter. Consider this the calm before the storm. Selina Kyle will be back next time, and it'll be a bit of a doozy. Thank you to everyone who's read so far.

Mrs. Heather Bierko lived in a handsome white brick townhouse in one of the more upscale neighborhoods in downtown Gotham. Just from the outside, it looked well kept and peaceful. Penelope couldn't imagine the resident of a house like that would have anything to do with someone like Edward Nigma, much less hire him to find their daughter. Penelope had spent the last half hour sitting in her car outside the townhouse, and most of the last several hours, wondering what on Earth had possessed her to even go along with this. She was a consulting psychiatrist with the GCPD. She had no business helping Selina Kyle go behind Gordon's back like this. Penelope bit her lip and gripped the steering wheel as she remembered monsters and the death left in their wake. Hadn't she learned anything from Arkham? Selina Kyle and the other Rogues couldn't be trusted. While she was here speaking with Mrs. Bierko, who knew what Kyle or Nigma himself were getting up to? If this ever got back to Gordon, Penelope's career would be over and her new life destroyed before it even began. 

Every time she had thought about calling Gordon though, she remembered the actions that Edward Nigma had taken at the Arkham Memorial. He protected her from Horner. He didn't have to do that. He reached out to her afterward, probably to get the last word rather than for any altruistic reason, but he had and much as she was reluctant to admit it, he had comforted her. He'd proven that somewhere deep inside of him, there was someone capable of human decency. Now that he was the one in possible danger, she couldn't just ignore it. But he wasn't just any man. He was the Riddler. She'd seen first hand what could happen when he was in the grip of his compulsions. Rationally, she knew the most prudent course of action was to warn Gordon, let the proper authorities do their job and if Nigma had to go back to Arkham, that was that. She could go back to her life. A life she wouldn't have if it wasn't for Edward Nigma. Penelope let out a rueful sigh. Leave it to Edward Nigma to find a way to come back in her life and turn it upside down.

Penelope unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. She'd promised Kyle 24 hours and 24 hours she'd get. As she approached the front door Penelope carefully schooled her face into its default professional expression. She couldn't afford to be anything less. She knocked on the door three times. For a moment, there was no response. Penelope frowned. She didn't have the time to go looking for Mrs. Bierko if she wasn't home. 

Finally, the door opened and a well dressed middle aged blond woman appeared on the other side. "May I help you?"

"Are you Mrs. Heather Bierko?"

The woman furrowed her brow. "I am. Who are you?"

Penelope reached into her pocket and pulled out her GCPD issued ID. "I'm with the GCPD. My name is Penelope Young. I'd like to speak with you about your daughter and Edward Nigma."

Mrs. Bierko's jaw dropped. "Yes, of course. Please come in." 

Penelope followed Mrs. Bierko into her living room, taking care to shut the door behind her. Mrs. Bierko led her to a floral print chair in the center of the room.

"Please, take a seat. Would you like some tea?" Mrs. Bierko asked her.

"Yes, thank you." 

As Mrs. Bierko went into the kitchen, Penelope took the opportunity to look around her living room. It was immaculate if too pastel for her taste, with family pictures set up on every shelf. Penelope took a few steps toward the end table and picked up the framed picture. It was of a young girl, probably about seven years old, with her blond hair in pigtails. This must have been of a younger Kimberly. Most of the pictures were of Mrs. Bierko and Kimberly, but there seemed to be no father present. As Mrs. Bierko walked back into the living room with two cups of tea, Penelope noted that she wasn't wearing a wedding ring. 

"Now," Mrs. Bierko said in a clipped tone of voice, "How did you find out about my hiring Mr. Nigma?" She sat down in a sofa with the same pastel floral print and gestured for Penelope to sit. 

"It came up during a case," Penelope replied. At least that wasn't a complete lie. She took the offered tea cup from Mrs. Bierko and took a sip. When she finished, she placed the cup down on the coffee table and looked Mrs. Bierko straight in the eyes. Just as with Nigma's hapless secretary, the best way to get the information she needed was to project authority. "We need to nail down Nigma's actions the past few days. If you don't mind, I'd like to know some more details about your daughter and how you came into contact with Mr. Nigma."

Mrs. Bierko nodded, placing her tea cup down next to Penelope's. "Of course. I called him this Monday morning, after I hadn't heard from Kimberly, my daughter for a few days. I got his number from a friend of mine. He helped take her husband to the cleaners in their divorce last year."

"I see. I'd like to ask some questions about your daughter's disappearance. When was the last time you saw your daughter?" Penelope asked.

"Last Friday afternoon," Mrs. Bierko answered. "We met for lunch at the Rose Cafe. Kimberly told me that she would be going to a job interview at some salon in the Bowery later that afternoon. When I didn't hear from her that evening, I tried looking up the name of the salon. The address was at a condemned building. I tried calling her friends at Gotham University, but they hadn't seen her either. When I didn't hear from her by Monday, I went to Mr. Nigma." Mrs. Bierko took another sip of tea. She was calm while recounting her story and had maintained eye contact. Penelope felt confident that Mrs. Bierko wasn't lying to her.

"Why him?" Penelope probed. "Why didn't you go to the police?"

Mrs. Bierko placed her tea cup down and sighed. "It's a bit difficult to explain... This isn't the first time that Kimberly has disappeared like this. Kimberly's father left us when she was eight years old. Since then, she's had...behavioral problems. Acting out, attention seeking, cutting classes, you name it."

"I see," Penelope nodded. "Was she in counseling?"

"She was when she still lived at home. After she went to college, she stopped. She said that she didn't need to waste her time seeing a shrink. I should have insisted, but legally, she was an adult. I couldn't force her. Since then, she's been blowing off her studies and partying. Last year, she disappeared for a weekend and I had to bail her out of jail in Central City. It was humiliating."

 _Interesting choice of words_ , Penelope thought. From both the language used and the matter of fact way she spoke about her daughter, it seemed that Mrs. Bierko didn't think Kimberly was in any real danger. That would explain why she hadn't thought it necessary to call the GCPD. "So you went to Mr. Nigma because you were counting on him to be discrete."

Mrs. Bierko's shoulders tensed. "I know it sounds terrible, but yes. The last thing either Kimberly or I need his for her to spend another night in jail. He promised that at least when I met with him."

"What did you discuss with Mr. Nigma?"

"I told him what I just told you about Kimberly. He said he would take her case and we agreed on the terms. I paid him half of the money then and agreed to pay the rest when he found her."

"Was that your idea?"

"No," Mrs. Bierko said. "It was his. He insisted, actually."

This surprised Penelope. Nigma must have felt extremely confident that he'd be able to find the girl.  _His own mother abandoned him when he was eight. Did he feel some sort of sympathy?_ Penelope shook the thought out of her mind. "What was his demeanor like during your meeting?"

Mrs. Bierko looked at her questioningly. "His demeanor?"

"Did he seem agitated at all? Did anything strike you as out of the ordinary?" Penelope clarified.

"No," Mrs. Bierko shook her head. She let out a small laugh. "He was perfectly charming. You'd hardly be able to tell he was ever a criminal." Mrs. Bierko let out a wistful sigh. "I have to admit, if I were twenty years younger..."

That was a mental image Penelope didn't need. Instead, she concentrated on what Mrs. Bierko had told her. Nigma seemed to have full control of himself during his meeting with her. Either he was doing an exceptionally good job at hiding his inner turmoil from his clients, or Kyle was right and his disappearance had nothing to do with his mental state and everything to do with a case. Penelope chewed the inside of her lip. If the latter was true, he wasn't the only person in danger. 

"And when was the last time you spoke to Mr. Nigma?"

"Later that afternoon, actually. He called me and told me that he'd found a potential lead on where Kimberly was."

Penelope sat up a bit straighter. "What time was that?"

"About 5:00, I think."

That would have been just before he'd disappeared. "Did he mention what this lead was?" 

Mrs. Bierko shook her head. "No, just that he would call as soon as he had any more information. When I didn't hear from him, I just assumed it was a false lead." Mrs. Bierko placed her tea cup down with a shaky hand. "Ms. Young, what is going on? Has something happened to Mr. Nigma?"

Penelope looked Mrs. Bierko straight in the eye. "I don't want to alarm you Mrs. Bierko, but Mr. Nigma hasn't been seen or heard from since Monday afternoon. You may have been the last person he spoke to."

Mrs. Bierko placed a hand to her chest. "My God!" Her face then paled. "If he's missing-Oh God! What's happened to my Kimberly?"

Penelope had no answers for her. She instead got up from the armchair and handed her card to Mrs. Bierko. "Thank you for the information. If there's anything else you can think of, call me. In the meantime, I think you should file a missing person's report."

Mrs. Bierko gave a shaky nod and took the card from her. "Yes, of course. Oh, if anything's happened to my Kimmy, I'll never forgive myself!"

* * *

Penelope exited the townhouse and returned to her car. Once inside, she reached over to the passenger seat where she'd left Nigma's file on the Bierko case. Opening it, she carefully read through his notes. They detailed the meeting he had with Mrs. Bierko, along with commentary about her demeanor towards him that didn't bear repeating, but there was nothing regarding this lead that Mrs. Bierko mentioned. Whatever he'd discovered, he'd apparently kept it to himself. Penelope did notice however that the address Mrs. Bierko gave him of where the supposed job interview was was underlined. Twice. "That address meant something to you, didn't it?" Penelope murmured. "What did you know Edward? And why didn't you write it down?"

Penelope leaned back in her seat with a sigh. She'd left Mrs. Bierko with more questions than she had arrived with, but one thing was becoming clear to her. Edward's disappearance was connected to this case. She was sure of it, but she had no solid proof and now there was Kimberly Bierko's safety to consider. Penelope reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her cellphone. She'd done enough, hadn't she? Didn't the presence of a third party make her promise void?  It wasn't too late. She could still go to Gordon...

_"Slayer of Regrets, Old and New, Sought by Many, Found by Few. What am I?"_

Penelope shoved her phone back into her pocket. She placed her keys in the ignition and started her car. She still had time to kill before meeting with Selina Kyle. She could drive by the address in the Bowery and hope that whatever information was there would be as obvious to her as it was to Nigma. As she drove towards the Bowery, she hoped that Ms. Kyle was having better luck finding answers than she was.

 

 


	6. Harvey Dent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While looking for clues, Selina runs into an old 'friend'.

Selina didn't need to be a genius to know Harvey Dent was more than likely involved with the warehouse robbery that Eddie had been investigating. That it was located on 22nd Avenue was a big tip off. That and even when Eddie and Dent were on the same wrong side of the law, he'd often gone out of his way to avoid aggravating the ex-district attorney. Which said something, given how fond Eddie was of annoying anyone who crossed his path. Before she made any further steps though, Selina needed to be sure. As she left Dr. Young's apartment, she called Oswald. He picked up after only one ring.

_"Any further news?"_

"The doctor and I found a few leads," Selina reported as she walked down the block towards her car. "Eddie had a missing girl's case right before he disappeared. Dr. Young's going to speak with the girl's mother. Eddie also looked into a warehouse robbery on 22nd avenue last week."

There was a slight pause before Oswald spoke again.  _"22nd Avenue, you said? Oh dear."_

So Ozzie already knew about it. Why wasn't Selina surprised? "It was Harv, wasn't it?"

 _"Yes,"_ Oswald answered, somewhat sheepishly. " _I_ _...might have helped fence some of the firearms purloined from the location. I didn't know Edward was looking into it."_

"He returned the client's money not too long after he took the case. He must have found out that Harvey was involved and backed out."

_"That makes sense. Edward's made a point to give the rest of the rogues a wide berth since he's reformed."_

"Is there any chance Harvey found out that Eddie was looking around?"

_"I doubt it. Edward's very good at covering his tracks. That and Dent's not that discreet. If he and Edward had an encounter, I think we'd all know about it by now."_

Finally, Selina reached her parking spot. She'd parked in an alleyway a few blocks from Dr. Young's apartment. Not the most glamorous place to leave her car, but it offered excellent cover for her. She put her phone on speaker and placed it onto her dashboard. "I'd rather hear that from Bad Old Harv himself," she said as she pulled her catsuit out of the back seat. "Do you know where he is?"

_"Last I heard, he and his gang were holed up in an old campaign office of his in Park Row. Should I send some men with you?"_

"No," Selina said, pulling off her blouse. "If Eddie's in there, he could get caught in a fire fight. I'll go check it out myself."

" _If you're sure,"_ Oswald said, not sounding happy about it. " _Good luck, my dear."_

"Thanks Ozzie," Selina said before hanging up. Catsuit on, she gathered her whip and caltrops before she exited her car. She wasn't usually active this early in the day, but there wasn't time to wait for the cover of darkness. She locked her car and climbed up a nearby fire escape.

_Hold on, Eddie. I'm coming._

* * *

 

An hour later, Selina stood in front of a decrepit building in Park Row. It wasn't much to look at from the outside. It was dilapidated and save for the tattered remains of old campaign posters on the walls outside there was nothing to indicate that this had once been the campaign office of Harvey Dent. Selina wasn't sure why this building was even still standing, festering away like the wounds on Harvey's face.

She peered into a cracked window. There was no sign of life, but Selina could see a light on towards the back. Carefully, she slid the window sill up and walked in. No alarm. Harvey was getting sloppy in his middle age. As she made her way down the hallway, she heard voices speaking in a low tone. She slowed her pace and strained her ears to listen.

"When's the boss coming back?" She heard one voice ask.

"In a few minutes," another voice answered. "You heard him. He said he's got some loose ends to tie up from the warehouse job."

Selina tightened her grip on her whip. That sounded incriminating. She was at the end of the hallway now. In front of her was a large room, probably the main room of the campaign office in another time. In the center of the room was a large circular table, around which sat six men dressed in black and white clothing split down the middle playing poker. Harv's men, no doubt. They didn't have any weapons on them. They were so engrossed in their game that they hadn't noticed her as she slowly made her way into the room. Selina smirked. This was going to be easy.

"Then what? Another bank job?"

The man closest to Selina nodded, then spat onto the floor. "Yeah. We'll be hitting the 2nd National Bank tonight. After that, maybe we can go out and find us some girls."

That was her cue. "Why wait boys? Here's a girl for you to play with now."

Six heads turned sharply her way. "What the Hell's Catwoman doing here!?"

"Settle down boys. I need to speak to you and your boss about Edward Nigma."

Two of the men gave each other a confused look. "The Riddler? What does the boss have to do with the Riddler?"

"Who knows?" One bulky man sitting at the head of the table got up from his chair and leered at her. "All alone Kitty Cat? Looks like we're having some fun tonight, boys." He walked towards her.

Selina brought her hand to her forehead in mock horror. "Six of you and one of me? What is a poor girl to do?" Without warning, she unfurled her whip and caught the henchman's feet. He let out a cry of indignation and wobbled a bit. With a sharp tug, she brought him crashing down to the floor. Before he could even think of getting up, Selina had crossed the room to where he'd fallen and gave him a sharp kick to his face. He lay prone after that.

Bringing her whip back up, she gave a challenging look to the five other henchmen. "How about it boys?"

The five men looked at each other then got up out of the chairs and rushed towards her. Selina clucked her tongue. Men like this never learned, did they?

She quickly threw a caltrop to the left of her, blocking the route of the three henchman coming from that side of the table. That would give her time to deal with the closest two. She took her whip and aimed for the face of one. A pained cry told her that she'd struck home. The second man had reached her at that point and brought his fist back. Selina ducked his blow and, grabbing his shoulders, brought her knee up at the man's crotch. He collapsed with a grunt. Two down. Turning to her left, she noticed that two of the henchmen had climbed the table in order to reach her. Thinking quickly, Selina dodged their attempts to grab her and drove her elbow into the throat of the man closest to her. She grabbed the last man by his arm, turned sharply and flipped him back into the table. The table collapsed from the force of the blow. Five down. Selina quickly turned to face the last henchman, only to find him standing against the wall, eyes wide and frozen. 

Selina smirked. This last one must be a new recruit of Harvey's. Stepping over the prone body of one of the henchmen she'd fought, Selina walked up to him. The man, boy really, began to shake a bit as she approached. Poor little lamb. 

"Word of advice kid," Selina purred, placing her hands on both sides of the boy's face. "Next time a lady asks for something, be polite and answer her question."

The henchman gulped. Poor kid. He didn't look older than eighteen. "Y-yes m'am."

Selina chuckled a bit. "Now," she said. "Tell me about the Riddler. You seen him around lately?"

The henchman shook his head. "N-No. He doesn't do stuff like this a-anymore."

"I know," Selina said placing her left hand near the boy's throat. "He's a private eye now. He was investigating the robbery you boys pulled off last week. Did your boss know about that?"

"N-no! I swear! We haven't seen him!"

Selina not so gently placed her fingertips at the base of his throat. The slightest bit of pressure and she'd draw blood. "Are you sure about that? It's rude to lie to a girl you know."

The boy looked ready to piss himself. "Oh God, I swear, it's true! You can ask Two Face yourself!"

Selina believed him. She drew her hand away from his throat and backed away. "Good boy. Now, run home to your mother and leave henching to the grown ups."

The boy dashed out of the room, nearly tripping over an unconscious colleague on his way out. Selina surveyed the damaged table and still, groaning bodies of the other henchmen and sighed. There wasn't any trace of Eddie here. Nothing to do until Harvey showed up.

"What the fuck!?"

Selina turned at the noise. _Speak of the Devil._ Before her stood the man who had once been the District Attorney of Gotham City and now Two Face. Both sides of his face were twisted in a scowl and he had his gun drawn. "Whip down, hands up. Now?"

Selina rolled her eyes and did as the scarred man told her. This was the second time in less than twenty four hours someone had gotten the drop on her. Maybe she was slipping too. "Hi Harvey," she drawled. "You're looking half as decent as ever."

She didn't think it was possible, but Two Face looked even angrier. "What the Hell are you doing here Selina? Trying to steal our take?"

"Please Harv. You know me better than that. I need information."

Two Face looked skeptically at her. "Information? You trash my hideout and take out five of my guys for information? What kind of information?"

"In my defense Harv, they started it. I just need to know one thing: Where's Eddie?"

Two Face sneered at her. "Nigma? What are you looking for him for? I thought you weren't two weren't on speaking terms anymore."

Selina resisted a groan. Just how many people knew about what happened with Dr. Aesop? "He's missing Harvey. He was looking into that warehouse job you did just before he disappeared."

Two Face let out a guttural laugh. "He was, was he? And you think we made him disappear?"

Selina narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you?"

"I didn't even know he was sniffing around. Good thing for him we didn't catch him. He knows damn well what will happen to him if we get our hands on him."

"And what would that be?"

Two Face pulled his signature coin out of his left pocket and rubbed it between his thumb and pointer finger. "Good side up, he gets a bullet between the eyes. Bad side, we'll hit him with a truck."

Selina raised an eyebrow. "Harsh. I know Eddie's not the easiest guy to get along with Harv, but what's he done to get you all hot and bothered?"

Two Face said nothing for a bit, considering his coin. "It's not what he's done," he said finally. "It's what he's going to do."

"Going to do?" Selina repeated. "Eddie's reformed. Is there something you want to share with me?"

Two Face flipped his coin before he spoke again, with a contemplative look on his face. "I've never liked Nigma. He's always been an arrogant little upstart only in it for himself. He's got no loyalty to anyone. No respect. All Nigma's ever cared about is the 'game'. Everyone else is just a pawn to be used in that game. When he said that he was reforming, I only gave him a month before he started leaving riddles again."

"But he didn't," Selina interrupted. "He stuck with it." She couldn't resist twisting the knife a bit. "He's lasted longer than you ever have. Jealous?"

Two Face snarled. "Don't you get it!?" he shouted. "Nigma's not your friend. All Nigma cares about is being the smartest damn person in Gotham! That's why he became a PI. He wants to beat Batman at his own game. And what better way to do that than to take us down?"

Selina understood. She let out a short, mirthless laugh. "You think he'll turn on you? On the rest of the rogues? Aren't you being a little paranoid Harvey? He's been reformed for almost a year and he hasn't even gone anywhere near any of you."

"He hasn't had to," Two Face argued. "He's been lucky so far. But he can't straddle the fence forever. Someday, Nigma's going to have to decide if he's one of us, or if he's one of _them._ And if there's any chance that he could turn on us, then he has to die."

Selina shook her head. "It's not that black and white Harv," she said. " _People_ aren't that black and white. That's something you never understood."

Two Face chuckled darkly. "So you say. But I'm not the only person who thinks that Selina. You ask anyone back in Arkham. Joker, White, Lynns, Fries. Hell, even Crane would say the same thing if he were still alive. Edward Nigma has no friends in Arkham Asylum. Edward Nigma has no friends _anywhere_."

Selina clenched her fists. "And if he does relapse? What then?"

"Maybe if he had six months ago, we wouldn't be having this conversation. But it's too late for him now. If Nigma goes back to Arkham tomorrow, he's a dead man walking."

Selina didn't want to believe it, but she knew Harvey wasn't lying to her. Did Eddie know there was a target on his back? Did Ozzie? Why didn't she know about this? How had she become so unaware of what was going on in Eddie's life? She wet her lip. "And what about me Harv?"

Two Face looked at his coin. "That's up to the coin. Good side up, you can walk out of here. Bad side, you get a bullet to the knee caps. That's what you get for breaking in and beating my crew."

"Generous, Harv." Harvey ignored her, lowered his gun and flipped the coin. Selina watched him carefully, waiting for the precise second he'd take his eyes off of her and look to the coin. It would be for only a second, maybe two, but that was all the time she needed. Finally, he caught the coin and looked down.  _Now._

Selina grabbed the handle of her whip and lashed it against Harvey's hands. He let out a pained yell, dropped the coin and grabbed his injured hand. "You bitch!" he bellowed. 

Selina didn't pay any attention as she took advantage of his distraction to run past him and towards the way she'd entered earlier. She could hear him following, but she was faster. "Bye Harvey," she sassed him as she left the office and made her way to an adjacent fire escape. "I'll send Eddie your regards."

* * *

 

It was dusk as Selina made her way into the Park Row skyline. When she was satisfied that she was far enough away from the campaign office, she paused to catch her breath as well as her thoughts. She'd had some fun beating some manners into Harvey and his henchmen, but she was no closer to finding Eddie and now she knew he was even more danger than anyone realized. She reached up to wipe the sweat off of he brow. Time to head back to Dr. Young's place and see what she'd found out.

 

 

 

 


	7. The Apartment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Selina and Dr. Young compare notes and decide to go back to Edward's apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to give a quick shout out to everyone who's read, followed and/or left a kudo so far. You guys are the best. This chapter does go into a bit of detail about the events of the previous fic in this series so if you aren't up to speed on that, you may want to be to read this. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy!

It was dark out by the time Selina made it back to Dr. Young's apartment. As she approached from the nearby rooftops, she could see Dr. Young waiting for her outside the building holding what looked like the case file she'd had earlier that day. Dr. Young didn't notice her climbing down the fire escape on the building next to hers, keeping her eyes at street level. Selina quietly climbed down until she was just above the doctor. She quirked her lips up a bit. Why not have a little fun with the uptight woman?

"What's up Doc?"

Dr. Young nearly jumped out of her skin, before she looked up and saw her. When she recognized Selina, her face went back into a guarded expression. "Ms. Kyle. What did you find out? And why do you look so flushed?"

Not even a smirk. Did this woman ever laugh? Selina dropped down from the fire escape and walked towards Dr. Young, stopping just in front of her. "I had... a bit of fun while I was out looking for clues. Harvey Dent was behind the warehouse robbery, but he didn't have anything to do with Eddie's disappearance."

Dr. Young raised an eyebrow. "Harvey Dent? That would explain why he returned the client's money. Are you sure Dent didn't do it?"

"I spoke to him myself Doc. Trust me, he's not involved. There's something he told me though that I think you should know about. Dent all but promised me that if he finds Eddie, he's going to kill him."

For a moment, this elicited a stricken reaction from Dr. Young, but the moment quickly passed and her expression changed to one of confusion. "Kill him? Why?"

"Dent thinks that now that Eddie's reformed, it's only a matter of time before he uses his smarts against the rest of the Rogues. He wants to kill Eddie before that can happen. And according to him, so do the other rogues back at Arkham."

"I see," Dr. Young murmured. "So in addition to everything else, now we have to find him before the other Rogues do."

"That's about the size of it," Selina sighed. Eddie never could make it easy for anyone, could he? "What did you find out?"

"Mrs. Bierko spoke with Nigma about her daughter's case on Monday," Dr. Young answered. "Later that afternoon, he called her and told her that he'd found a lead and that he'd call her back when he had more information."

"And he never did," Selina said. "His secretary said he left in a rush Monday afternoon. It has to be connected. Did he tell her what kind of lead it was?"

Dr. Young shook her head. "No. There's nothing written about it in his case files either. There was one thing though," She opened the case file and gave it to Selina. "He underlined the address where Mrs. Bierko said her daughter went before she disappeared." She pointed her finger at the address for emphasis. "It's an old building in the Bowery. I drove by there this afternoon, but it's been fenced off. There was no evidence anyone had been there recently. But that address must have meant something to Nigma. Do you recognize it at all?"

Selina took a close look at the underlined address in the case file. She shook her head. "Doesn't ring a bell," she admitted. "But Eddie has-used to have, a lot of hideouts across the city. I don't know where all of them are. This might have been one of them."

Dr. Young sighed. "Might have been isn't good enough, Ms. Kyle," she said peevishly. It's been almost twenty four hours since you broke into my apartment and we're no closer to finding Nigma than we were then. "

Selina narrowed her eyes at the doctor. "If you've got any other ideas Doc, I'm all ears."

Dr. Young looked as if she was about to retort, when her expression turned thoughtful. "Wait. Last night, you mentioned that Nigma had been looking through a scrapbook of his old Riddler exploits. And it was open when you found it?"

Where was Dr. Young going with this? "Yeah," she answered. "Why? Are you still thinking Eddie's gone back to his old habits?" Selina really wasn't in a mood to argue this point again.

Dr. Young shook her head. "No," she murmured. "You were right. I'm convinced at this point that Nigma's disappearance is connected to the Kimberly Bierko case. But the scrapbook's been bothering me. I thought that he was looking into his past on his own time. But what if he wasn't? What if he was looking into the scrapbook for this case?"

Selina furrowed her brow. This actually made sense. "I get it," she said. "Let me see if I'm following you right: Eddie gets this address from Mrs. Bierko and realizes he remembers it from somewhere. He's not sure where he recognizes it though so after he leaves his office, he goes back to his apartment, digs out the scrapbook and does a little digging."

"That's what I believe," Dr. Young affirmed. "And since the scrapbook was open when you found it-"

"Eddie must have found out where he remembered the address from!" Selina finished. "Maybe he even figured out who was behind the girl's disappearance!" Selina gave an appreciative grin at Dr. Young. "Not bad, Doc. Not bad at all."

Dr. Young ignored the compliment, instead taking back the case file. "In any case, I think the best thing to do now is to head back to his apartment. There may be other clues there that you missed earlier."

Selina would have loved to retort at Dr. Young's implication, but she bit her tongue. "Couldn't hurt," she agreed. 'Especially now that we know what we're looking for." Dr. Young had a point too. Maybe there was something that a psychiatrist could pick up on that a cat burglar couldn't. "Let's go. Your car or mine?"

* * *

Dr. Young opted for her car. It seemed that the Doctor didn't quite trust her enough to let her drive her around anywhere. Not that Selina could really blame her. After giving her the directions to Eddie's place, the two women passed the minutes in an uncomfortable silence. Dr. Young didn't even give her the curtesy of eye contact, keeping her eyes straight ahead at all times.

Selina examined her nails. She didn't expect the doctor to warm up to her, but this was getting unnerving. 

"So," Selina said, breaking the silence. "This'll be the first time you've set foot in a Rogue's apartment. Excited?"

"Hardly," Dr. Young answered, matter of factly. 

"Oh come on Doc," Selina needled. "You can't tell me you're not the least bit curious about Eddie's private life."

"Edward Nigma's private life is no interest or concern of mine," Dr. Young answered, her eyes still focused on the road ahead. "The only reason I'm coming along is to find information about Kimberly  Bierko. The sooner we do that, the sooner I can wash my hands of all this."

Selina didn't buy that for a moment. "Really Doc? If that was all you cared about, you would have gone running to GCPD the moment you found out about her. You didn't."

Dr. Young tightened her grip on the steering wheel. "We had an agreement. I'm honoring it."

"Oh, I'm touched Dr. Really."

Dr. Young briefly took her eyes off the road to glare at Selina. "I'm not doing this for you."

Selina raised her hand to placate her. "I know." She smirked. "You're doing this because you owe Eddie. You were the doctor he saved at the memorial, weren't you?"

Dr. Young huffed. "Actually, I saved him then too, but I'm not surprised he hasn't mentioned that part. But yes," she said softly. "I suppose I am paying him back."

Now that she had Dr. Young in a more talkative move, Selina decided to ask her a question that had been nagging at her corn the past day. "So how exactly did he get that journal of yours?"

Dr. Young remained silent for a moment, then she responded. "We met each other at the benefit Sharp was holding just before the memorial. When Dr. Kellerman was murdered, Nigma went to my office to get information. I walked in on him sitting on my desk, reading that journal. We had a bit of an exchange."

Selina shook her head. "Sounds like Eddie," she said. "So why didn't you try to get it back from him?"

Dr. Young hesitated. "After everything that happened at the memorial and with my new job, I suppose I just forgot about it." She stopped the car at a red light. Dr. Young used the opportunity to really look at Selina. "May I ask you a question?"

Selina shrugged. "Sure."

"Why exactly do you want to find Mr. Nigma?"

Selina closed her eyes. _I really should have seen this coming._ "Like I told you last night Doc, we're friends."

"That's not what Nigma's secretary said."

Selina's eyes flew wide open and she turned at Dr. Young. The doctor's expression was guarded, but curious. Selina felt herself tense a bit. "Really? What exactly did she tell you?"  _And why the Hell did you even ask?_

Dr. Young seemed to be able to read her thoughts. "If I was going to go along with this, I needed to know why you wanted to find him. I wasn't about to help you do Nigma harm. She told me that the two of you had some kind of falling out."

Selina frowned. "Little busybody. So you know that, and you're still helping me out? Why?"

Dr. Young's face softened. "If you were willing to speak to Harvey Dent to find Nigma, I'm fairly confident you don't want to hurt him."

Selina relaxed and sank back against her seat. "Damn right I don't," she muttered. "Well, maybe smack him around a bit for making me worry like this."

The light turned green and Dr. Young put her foot on the gas. Selina guessed they were still a good few minutes away from Eddie's apartment.

"You never answered my question," Dr. Young said. "Why do you want to find him?"

Now it was Selina's turn to hesitate. "I just wanted to talk to him," she said finally. "We haven't spoken to each other in months. I guess I just wanted to clear the air with him. I wasn't expecting to have to track him down like this."

"Were you close before you fell out?"

 _Subtle, Doc._ "Sure. About as close to anyone Eddie can be." Selina's thoughts turned nostalgic. "We go a long way back. We got started in Gotham around the same time, you know." It seemed like a lifetime ago to Selina now. "We were the babies of the group back then. We used to team up on jobs sometimes. Eddie was an oddball even back then, but he was a good partner to have." She grinned a bit. "In more ways than one."

Dr. Young looked surprised. "You were lovers?"

Selina smirked at the doctor's almost scandalized expression. "We were never that serious," she replied. "We just had a little fun every now and then. That didn't last very long." Eddie had wanted more, Selina remembered. She'd turned him down of course. She wasn't looking for a serious relationship and she doubted that she had the capacity to be what Eddie needed in a long term partner anyway. He'd been upset at first but then he'd been assigned an Arkham cell with Jonathan Crane and he never spared her another romantic thought. Dr. Young didn't need to know that though. "We were barely on speaking terms before he went into his coma."

"And now that he's reformed?"

Selina turned her head and watched the world go by her window. "It took a little while, but we were friends again. I'd forgotten what that was like." Until Dr. Aesop. Selina frowned. She'd like to able to think about Eddie without feeling guilt. "You know, for someone who said that they had no interest in Eddie's personal life, you're asking a lot of personal questions Doc."

Dr. Young didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed. "I'm just trying to understand the situation. I know he's betrayed you more than once. Even despite everything he's done, you're still willing to help him?"

Selina shrugged her shoulders. "Eddie's betrayed pretty much everyone in Gotham's criminal circle. It's kind of par for the course for us. We work together, we double cross each other, we fight about it, we make up and the whole cycle starts up again." At least it used to, until Eddie decided he didn't play by those rules anymore. She chuckled a bit to herself. "Eddie especially has a way of getting under your skin. Just a word of advice Doc, once he gets in, he never really leaves."

"Noted," Dr. Young said in a clipped tone. "What are you going to do when we find Nigma?"

Selina leaned against the passenger seat and let out a sigh. She'd had over a day to think about what she wanted to say to Eddie when she saw him again, but the words hadn't come. She was beginning to think they never would. Eddie had been many things to her over the years. Acquaintance, associate, enemy, friend, lover, sometimes more than one thing at the same time and yet he'd never felt more like a stranger to her than he did now. How had that happened? "I don't know," she said finally. "I just want to make sure he's alright. I can worry about the rest later. What about you?"

"The same really," Dr. Young replied. "I just want to find out what's happened to Nigma, find Kimberly Bierko and go back to my life."

Selina nodded. The two women sat in silence until Selina recognized the street they were on. "Eddie's building is just two rows down on our left," she said. "Pull in here."

Dr. Young pulled over and parked just outside of the apartment building. She gave the building a critical look. "I would have thought with how much he charged his clients that Nigma could afford a better place to live."

Selina chuckled a bit as she undid her seat belt. "Eddie hasn't exactly had a lot of luck finding people willing to rent to him," As she moved to open her passenger door she happened to look up towards Edward's apartment. She froze. The lights were on. She knew they hadn't been when she'd left the previous day.

Dr. Young moved to unbuckle her seat belt and leave the vehicle, not noticing Selina's reaction. "I suppose, but even by former criminal standards-"

"Wait," Selina held her arm out, blocking Dr. Young from getting out of her seat. "Look up. There's a light on in Eddie's apartment."

Dr. Young followed her gaze upwards. Her eyes widened when she saw the light. "Is that Nigma?" she asked.

Selina hoped so, but she doubted it. She took a quick look to the street. Eddie's car was still gone. "I don't know," she answered. "Stay here. I'm going to go check this out. If I'm not out in 10 minutes, drive away and go to the Iceberg Lounge. Ask for Oswald Cobblepot and say Selina sent you." Selina reached for her whip and opened the passenger door. Without a look back to Dr. Young, she made a quick dash to the side of the building and scaled the walls of the apartment building until she was just outside Eddie's window. She peered in. There was no sign of anyone inside, but the Eddie's kitchen cabinets were wide open. She quickly jimmied open the window and, silent as a cat, flipped into the apartment.

A closer look inside showed that Eddie's living room had been ransacked. The scrapbook and journal were on the coffee table where Selina had left them the previous day, but the shelves and drawers had all been pulled out. Selina narrowed her eyes. Whoever took Kimberly Bierko and Eddie must have had the same idea the Doctor had. Selina was about to take the scrapbook when she heard a noise from Eddie's bedroom. Selina tightened her grip on her whip and slowly made her way there. As she got closer, she could hear someone muttering. Selina was just outside the bedroom now, She peered in and saw a disheveled man pilfering through the drawers on Eddie's nightstand.

"Come on," the man muttered. "He said you'd be here."

Just one guy? Was this guy connected to the case or was she walking in on a random burglary? Only one way to find out. "Looking for something?" Selina called out.

The man looked up with a start at the sound of her voice. His eyes widened when he saw her and he froze. Selina took a step closer. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.

The man made no sound. Then without warning, he grabbed the lamp off of Eddie's nightstand and threw it at Selina. She dodged it, only to have the man run past her while she was distracted. 

"Hey!" she called out. She gave chase, only to hear a horrific cry of pain. Selina dashed out into the hallway and saw the man lying on the floor, groaning in pain with two taser barbs sticking out of his chest. In the door way stood Dr. Young, holding out her taser, looking at the man with wide eyes.

Selina gave her a look. "Didn't I tell you to stay in the car?"

Dr. Young looked up at her then. "Aren't you glad I didn't?" She said almost defensively.

Selina shook her head. "Whatever," she said. She walked over to where the man lay prone on the ground. "Looks like we found a new lead doc."

The man groaned, then looked up at the two women. "Oh crap," he moaned.

 

 

 


	8. The Informant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Selina and Dr. Young interrogate the man found in Edward's apartment and the truth begins to emerge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody! Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out, but hopefully the length makes up for it! We're starting to get close to the answer of our mystery. Can you guess it?

Selina coolly considered the man who was currently sprawled out on Eddie's living room floor. He was disheveled looking, with a a thin layer of stubble on his face and thin strands of greasy looking black hair peeking out of an old beanie. He looked like any run of the mill skell that populated the back allies of Gotham City, but not there weren't many of those willing to break into the Riddler's apartment, or throw a lamp at Catwoman. His being here couldn't just be some random break in.

"This can't be a coincidence." 

Selina looked back at Dr. Young. She still stood in the doorway of Eddie's apartment, holding her taser at her side. Dr. Young continued. "A break in to his apartment just as we were on the way to find evidence? What are the odds of that?"

A groan from the man drew both women's attention. Selina crouched down until her face was just inches away from the man's face. "I guess there's one way to find out Doc. You still alive there slugger?"

The man groggily blinked at her and then let out a low moan. "Aw crap. I don't get paid enough for this."

"Funny you should say that actually," Selina drawled. "My friend and I were just wondering what you were doing here. Care to enlighten us?"

The man grimaced a bit, then flashed a defiant look at her. "What am I doing here? What are _you_ doing here?"

Selina chuckled a bit, rising back up to her full height. "Cute." Without warning, she pressed the tip of her boot to the man's throat. "I'll ask you just one more time: who are you and what are you doing here?"

The man gulped. "OK, OK! My name's Travis! My boss asked me to come here!"

Selina removed her heel. "See, was that so hard? Now, tell us who your boss is and why they wanted you to come here."

Travis shook his head. "I can't. He'll be really mad..."

Selina's face darkened. "He'll be mad?" she asked. "He's not here, I am. Do you want to see what happens when I get mad? Or the lady over here with the taser?"

"Leave me out of this," Dr. Young protested. 

Selina ignored her and pressed the tip of her boot to his throat again, harder this time. Travis began to claw for air. "Tell me who your boss is right now or you'll be getting a free tracheotomy!"

Travis gave a frantic nod. "Alright! Alright! Nigma! my boss is Edward Nigma!"

Selina narrowed her eyes. "You lying sack of crap-"

"That's enough!" Dr. Young yelled. "Get off of him and let him talk!"

Selian glared at her, but did as she asked. Travis took deep gulps of air. Selina turned and gave Dr. Young a dark look. "I thought you said to leave you out of this,"

Dr. Young rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to stand back and let you kill the man when he has valuable information."

"Valuable information!?" Selina argued. "He's lying! Why would Eddie hire someone to break into his own apartment?"

"How do we know he broke in?" Dr. Young asked. She leaned down to meet Travis at eye level. She reached out a hand to him and helped pull him up so he was sitting against the living room wall. "Are you alright?" she asked him in a soft voice.

Travis nodded. "Yeah, thanks." He shot a worried glance at Dr. Young's taser. 'You're not going to use that on me again, are you?"

Dr. Young shook her head. "No," she said, slipping the taser back into her bag. "I'm sorry I shot you, but you startled me." Then, she did something completely inexplicable to Selina. She smiled at him. "Can you tell us how you know Mr. Nigma? We're friends of his. You can trust us."

Selina narrowed her eyes. What was Dr. Young playing at? Then Travis opened his mouth. "Yeah, yeah. I'm an informant of his."

 _An_ _informant_? Selina was skeptical for more than one reason. Eddie had had a large network of spies and informants in the various criminal gangs in Gotham, as well as a few placed in GCPD and the Arkham staff. But as far as she knew, most of them had disappeared or joined other gangs after he'd entered his coma. She hadn't heard anything about Eddie starting the network back up again. _Then again,_ she thought. _I guess I'm just about the last person he'd tell right now._ "How long have you been working with Eddie?" she asked him.

Travis looked at her fearfully, then looked at Dr. Young. She nodded at him. "It's alright Travis," she said gently. "You can tell her."

_So it's Good Cop Bad Cop, huh? I can live with that._

"For about six weeks," he answered. "Mr. Nigma said he needed a few guys on the street to keep him in the loop on stuff."

So Eddie was starting his old informant network back up. Why now though? Eddie had been getting by without it for a year now. What had happened that Eddie thought it was necessary? Judging from the quizzical look on Dr. Young's face, she was wondering the same thing. Great. One more thing she'd have to convince her to keep from Gordon.

"A few guys?" Selina asked. "How many of you are there?"

Travis shrugged. "I don't know. Five, maybe six of us? I've only met one other guy. The boss doesn't really want us to associate with each other."

_Smart. If one gets caught, he can't tell anyone anything about the rest of the network._

"What were you working on for him?" Dr. Young asked.

Travis looked down at his feet. "I can't tell you," he mumbled. "The boss told me not to tell anybody. He can be a real son of a bitch when he's mad."

Didn't Selina just know it. "Look," she said shortly. "When was the last time you spoke to your boss? We need to find him. He's missing."

Travis gave her a stupid look. "Missing? What do you mean?"

"No one's seen him since Monday," Dr. Young answered. "We think he may be in trouble."

"Trouble?" Travis repeated. "He sounded fine on the phone earlier."

Selina and Dr. Young exchanged a dumbfounded look. "Earlier?" Selina asked. "You've spoken to him tonight? When?"

Travis looked shaken by Selina's outburst. "About an hour ago," he answered. "He called and asked me to come here and grab his spare hat."

Eddie sending a henchman to grab a spare hat? Now Selina knew Travis was telling the truth. Dr. Young didn't look entirely convinced. "To grab his hat? Are you sure?"

Travis nodded. "Yeah."

"What did he sound like on the phone? Was he distressed in any way?" Dr. Young continued.

Travis thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Nah, he sounded normal. He was nicer than he usually is."

"What else did he say?" Selina asked.

"He wanted me to meet him at the docks after I got his hat." Travis looked nervous again as he looked from Dr. Young to Selina. "You're not going to let me go see him, are you?"

"Not a chance," Selina answered. "You just hang out here. Or go home. Just stay out of our way." Selina then walked out of the apartment, ignoring Dr. Young's calling after her. As soon as she was in the hallway, Selina pulled her fist back and punched the wall. Eddie was alive. Eddie was free. Eddie had possibly never been in any real danger in the first place. She should be happy. Instead, she was furious. Eddie had disappeared for the better part of a week and hadn't seen fit to keep anyone in the loop about his actions. Did he know that she was looking for him? And if he did, did he even care? And he had the nerve to hold her and the girls' behavior against them? Typical Eddie. Always, always demanding the best out of everyone around him and not willing to give the bare minimum himself. Selina drew her hand back and gently rubbed her knuckles. Alright, maybe he didn't owe her any explanation, but Oswald? His secretary? The missing girl's mother? He owed them a damn good explanation for this little disappearing act. "Damn you Eddie," she whispered. "Damn you to Hell."

"Ms. Kyle?"

Selina turned and saw Dr. Young standing behind her. If she'd seen her outburst she didn't comment on it. "Are we going to the docks?" she asked her.

Selina raised an eyebrow. "You still want to?"

"Of course," Dr. Young answered. "I don't know about you, but I'm not convinced that there isn't something suspicious going on."

Now that Selina's frustration was working out of her system, she began to think the whole case over again. Eddie found a lead in a missing person's case. He disappeared for four days, then resurfaced to call an informant to ask him to get him his hat? Where was he the previous four days? Had he found a clue about the girl but then had to retreat? But he that was the case, why hadn't he gone to Oswald for help? Dr. Young was right. Something still wasn't adding up.

"You're right," Selina said at last. "After all the running around we did, we deserve the truth from him."

 

* * *

Dr. Young insisted on dropping Travis off at his apartment before driving out to the docks. While she was driving, Selina took the opportunity to call Oswald.

 _"Are you certain the man's information can be trusted? This smells like a set up."_ he asked her.

"We don't have any other leads Ozzie," Selina answered. "Besides, he didn't seem smart enough or brave enough to try to trick us."

Oswald sighed. " _Very well. Ms. Vance and Ms. Damfino have arrived by the way. I'm sending them to the docks to meet you. Just to be on the safe side."_

"Looking forward to it," Selina lied. "I'll call you when we get Eddie."

_"Good luck my dear."_

Selina hung up the phone and turned to Dr. Young. "Eddie's old gal pals are going to be there," she said.

"That could be a good thing," Dr. Young answered. "If this is a trap, we'll need backup."

So she'd heard Oswald. Or maybe being an Arkham doctor had made her savvy to this game. In different circumstances, Selina could have fun trying to figure out what made this Doctor tick. Finally, the buildings of downtown Gotham gave way to a view of the old shipping buildings that populated the docks.

"Pull into the parking lot here," Selina gestured. Dr. Young did so, making sure to keep the car out of sight as much as possible. As Selina unbuckled herself, she gave Dr. Young a sharp look. "Stay here," she said. "I mean it Doc. If this is a set up, Eddie and I don't need any collateral damage."

Dr. Young furrowed her brow, but nodded. "I understand. And if it's not?"

"Just stay here until I come back," Selina said. She opened the car door and walked down the wooden pier that led into the docks. As she furthered deeper into the wharf, Selina was on guard. The shipyards weren't as bad off as places like the Bowery or the Narrows, but the only people who would be here at this late hour were members of the various crime families, or ne'er do wells like Selina herself. The only sounds she heard as she ventured towards the waterfront were the sounds of her own boots clacking against the wooden dock, a stray seagull and the gentle lapping of the Gotham Bay. Selina kept one hand on the handle of her whip and reached one hand up to wipe the sweat off her brow. It wasn't as hot as it had been the previous few nights, but the humidity was ever present. Or maybe it was her own nerves.

Finally, Selina reached the end of the pier. There standing by the edge, were a group of five men, four of whom were complete strangers to Selina. The fifth, standing at the center of the group, was not. "Eddie?" Selina asked.

The man stepped forward. The night was dark and the docks were poorly lit, but Selina knew the green clad man from anywhere.

"Eddie!" she cried out, running to him. She stopped just before him and surveyed his appearance. He was dressed in a more ornate coat than she'd seen him in recently, adorned with black sequin question marks. He appeared completely unharmed however. He fixed her with a blank look. Finally, after three months of no contact and twenty four hours of searching the city, Selina Kyle was fact to face with Edward Nigma. Selina had a million things she wanted to say to the man, a million questions to ask, an overdue apology to make, but all she could say was one thing.

"Where the Hell have you been!?" she yelled at him. "Oswald and I have been looking all over for you! You had me scared half to death!"

Eddie said nothing to her. He just continued to look at her with a placid stare on his face. Selina rolled her eyes. " Are you giving me the silent treatment? Real mature Ed. What have you been doing the past four days? Did you find that girl you were looking for?"

There was nothing but silence from him. He was making eye contact with her, but nothing she had said seemed to register to him. His face was set in a neutral expression, without a hint of his trademark smirk. Selina had expected Eddie to be many things when she found him. Angry, mostly. But this? Even when Eddie was at his calmest, he was always talking. The only time she'd ever seen him this silent and expressionless was when he'd been in his coma. 

"Eddie? Hello? Are you listening to me?" Selina looked upwards into his eyes and noticed something for the first time. After he'd waken up from his coma, Eddie had needed to wear tinted glasses to protect his eyes from light exposure. They were gone now, replaced by on old domino mask of his.

"What happened to your glasses?" she asked him. "Did you lose them?" Eddie made no response. For the first time, Selina noticed the four other men standing behind them. None of them had made a move towards them or had spoken. "Who are these guys?" Selina asked. "Your informants?" Nothing. If Eddie wouldn't respond to direct questioning, maybe he'd respond to charm. Selina lifted her arm and began to gently rub his shoulder.

"I know I've been a bad kitty," she purred in a tone she knew made Eddie weak. "But come on Eddie. We're friends. You can't hold Dr. Aesop against me forever can you? Tell me what happened to you."

Edward just stood there, staring straight through her it seemed. It was enough to make Selina want to tear her hair out. 

"Come on Eddie, say something!" she yelled. "Yell at me, scream, throw something at me, call me a moron, throw a tantrum all over the dock, anything! Don't shut me out like this!" She reached her hand out to cup his cheek. He didn't seem to even register the touch. _"Please."_

Eddie looked down at her for a moment, then finally spoke. "Riddle me this," he said in a low, almost monotone voice.

Selina jumped a bit when she heard his voice, but then let out a small, relieved laugh. "Seriously, Eddie?"

"When is a cat like a donut shop?"

Selina withdrew her hand and took a step back. Something wasn't right. "You lost me there Eddie."

Eddie's expression didn't change as he unscrewed the top of his cane and pulled out a long, thin blade. "When they're both full of holes."

It took one second for Selina to realize what Eddie was about to do to her and another second to react. She leapt back as Eddie lunged forward, thrusting the blade at her.

"What the Hell Eddie!?" She cried out, unfurling her whip. "I know you're mad at me, but are you trying to kill me!?"

Eddie said nothing, swinging the blade at her side. She dodged it effortlessly. As she regained her footing, she looked towards the other four men at the end of the pier. "Are you guys going to do anything, or are you just going to stand there!?"

None of them said anything. The largest man came forward. "Can't," he said in a voice as monotone as Eddie's had been. "The boss said not to."

 _What the Hell was going on here?_ While Selina was distracted, Eddie was preparing to bring his sword cane down on her. She caught his movements in time however and curled her whip around his feet. With one tug, she sent him toppling to the ground, dropping the blade. Selina withdrew her whip and stood over the dazed man. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing Eddie," she growled. "If you're on some kind of drugs or if you're just pissed as Hell at me, but I'm sick of it. Tell me what's going on right now or I swear to God I'll drag you back to Arkham myself."

Eddie blinked for a moment, then looked questioningly up at her. "Lina?" he whispered, so softly she barely heard it. "Lina, help..." then his face resumed its blank expression.

Selina stood frozen to the spot. Had...had Eddie just asked her for help? "What is it Eddie?" she asked. She leaned down, ready to help him up. "What's wrong?"

The only answer she received was Eddie's fist hitting her face. She swore as she toppled backwards. As she lay dazed, Eddie picked his sword cane back up and stood over Selina.

"Eddie," she said. "Don't do this."

Eddie said nothing, preparing the blade for a strike. Selina realized that he fully intended to kill her now. She reached to her belt where she had another caltrop. She'd never intended to hurt Eddie, but it was him or her now and it sure as Hell wasn't going to be her. _I'm sorry Eddie,_ she thought. _I'm sorry for everything._

"Edward!"

Selina and Eddie both turned at the sound of the voice. Selina let out a groan. Dr. Young was there, looking at the scene in horror. Why couldn't this woman for once, just do what she was told? "Edward!" she cried out again. "What are you doing?"

Edward looked confused at her, as if he was trying to figure out who she was. While he was distracted, Selina got up and punched him in the stomach. Fair was fair after all. Edward leaned over with a grunt. Selina then brought her knee up to his groin, causing him to collapse.

"Stop it!" Dr. Young yelled, outraged. "I didn't help you so you could hurt him!"

Selina whipped her head around to glare at her. "Did you miss the part where he was going to stab me to death Doc!?"

Dr. Young looked as if she was about to retort, then her face paled. "Behind you!" she cried out. 

Selina turned around in time to see one of the four men who had been with Eddie throw a punch at her. Thinking quickly, she blocked the punch and caught his forearm. She brought her elbow down, smirking when she heard the bone snap. Screaming in pain, the man bolted. Selina looked up and realized while she had been fending off one thug the other three had grabbed Eddie and were making off with him.

"Hey!" she yelled out. "Get back here!" Selina gave chase, ignoring Dr. Young's cry and following them towards an old Falcone shipping building. She soon lost sight of them in the maze of shipping materials. By the time she made it out, she heard the sound of a car peeling out of the parking lot. She let out a cry of anger. She'd been so close and now Eddie was gone again. Selina wiped her face clear of the sweat and made her way back to where she'd left Dr. Young. When she found her, she found that she wasn't alone. She was speaking with two heavily armed women, one with long blond hair and the other with her black hair cut short in a style similar to Selina's own. As Selina approached, the three women looked back at her, Dr. Young in concern and the two newcomers with barely concealed anger.

"So," Query asked her. "What did we miss?"

 


	9. The Answer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Selina, Dr. Young, Oswald, Query and Echo compare notes and unravel the mystery of Edward's disappearance.

Selina walked up to greet the newcomers and suppressed a groan. She'd never gotten along with Query and Echo back when they were Eddie's right hand girls and she had a feeling that time hadn't helped matters much. Both women were dressed in dark, tight fitting clothing and if their facial expressions were anything to go by, they were ready to kill. "Dierdre," she said addressing Query. She turned and gave a slight nod to the brunette beside Dr. Young. "Nina. Nice to see both of you."

"Cut the crap Kyle," Echo said shortly. "Where's the boss?"

Oh, this was getting off to a great start. "Eddie was here," Selina said. "Along with a couple of other guys. But something was wrong with him. He attacked me."

Echo looked unimpressed. "You and your gal pals almost got him killed a few months ago," she said, crossing her arms. "Did you expect him to give you flowers?"

Selina narrowed her eyes. "Of course not," she hissed. "I was expecting him to angry, but he wasn't. He was completely emotionless. Not a smirk, not anything, even when he was about to stab me. I've never seen him like that. That ring a bell for either of you?"

Query and Echo exchanged an uncertain look. "No," Query answered finally. "Did he say anything?"

Selina shook her head. "He gave me a corny riddle just before he attacked me-wait," Selina remembered. "While we were fighting, I knocked him down. He looked up and asked me to help him. When I leaned down to help him up, he attacked again. He didn't say anything after that."

Query nodded, accepting this story. Echo however continued to glare at Selina. Of the two, she'd always been more protective of Eddie. It was endearing Selina thought, when it wasn't directed at you. "And just where is he now?"

Selina met her look straight on. "The goons he was with took him away."

"And you just let them get away?"

"Where the Hell do you think I was just now?" Selina asked her. "I tried to stop them Nina, but they had a car and a head start."

"So we're right back where we started in other words. Why didn't you wait for us?" Echo continued interrogating her. "Cobblepot told you we were on the way. Maybe if you didn't run ahead, we wouldn't be in this position!"

"Oh fuck off Damfino," Selina hissed. "You two just got here. I've been trying to find Eddie for the past day. I wasn't about to wait on you to get here while he was in trouble!"

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Dr. Young interjected. She'd remained quiet while Selina had faced off against Query and Echo. Query and Echo looked over at her, as if just remembering she was present. To her credit, Dr. Young didn't wilt under their scrutiny. "We know more now than we did an hour ago. That's something at least. And fighting like this isn't going to get us and closer to finding Mr. Nigma."

Query looked at Selina questioningly. "Who's this again?"

"I'm Dr. Penelope Young," Dr. Young said. "I'm assisting Ms. Kyle."

"And just who is the boss to you?" Query asked her.

Dr. Young hesitated, then set her jaw. "I owe him a debt. That's all you need to know."

This didn't seem to satisfy either woman, but Query at least didn't push it. Echo meanwhile rolled her eyes. "Great, another Doctor. 'Cause that worked out so well for Eddie last time."

Dr. Young furrowed her brow and looked at Selina. "What is she talking about?"

"Never mind," Selina said. That wasn't a story they had time for right now. She brought her hand up to her forehead and wiped the sweat off. She was tired, she was hot and she was frustrated. She finally saw Eddie again and he'd attacked her. Even worse, he'd shown almost no sign of recognizing her. It was as if the Eddie she'd known was already gone, leaving only a shell in his place. And now he was gone again and Selina still had no idea what had happened to him or how to save him. Finally, she looked back at the other three women. She wouldn't let them see that this was getting to her. "Let's head back to the Iceberg Lounge. Ozzie'll be expecting us." 

Query nodded and walked back towards where she and Echo had their car parked. Echo glared at Selina again then left to follow Query. Only Dr. Young remained, looking at Selina with something that looked like concern. Selina hated it. "Are you alright?" the doctor asked.

Selina waved her off. "Fine. It's not the first time Eddie and I have fought. Let's go."

Dr. Young looked unconvinced. "If you-"

"We don't have time for this," Selina said firmly. "Are you coming or not?"

Dr. Young looked like she wanted to argue, but sighed. "Fine."

* * *

 

The Iceberg Lounge was empty by the time the four women arrived, save for a few of Oswald's staff and Oswald himself. They were led to a back room, where Oswald sat at a large conference table, hands folded in front of his face. A telephone was to his left side. When they entered the room, he looked up, only to look disappointed when he noticed who wasn't with them. "Ladies. Where's Edward?" he asked. His eyes widened when he saw Selina. "What on Earth happened to you?"

Selina brought her fingers up to the side of her face that Eddie had punched and winced a bit. She couldn't see her appearance, but she could feel a bruise beginning to form and she knew she'd have a bit of a shiner the next day. Eddie was a terrible hand to hand fighter, but he could still pack a wallop when he was angry enough. She'd gotten so used to him trying to play Good Guy that she'd nearly forgotten how vicious he could get.

"It's a long story Ozzie," she said, taking a seat directly across from him. Query and Echo took the seats to her left, while Dr. Young sat to her right. The doctor only gave Oswald a cursory look before she took her seat, hugging Edward's case file to her chest. Clearly, being in the presence of one of Gotham's most notorious residents unnerved her.

Oswald for his part, looked her over and nodded in approval. "Dr. Young, I presume," he said in greeting. "I trust that there will be no issues with GCPD?"

Query and Echo started a bit at the mention of the GCPD, while Dr. Young looked up at Oswald. "If Gordon finds out at this point, I'm in as much trouble as any of you," she answered. "But that's not what we're here to discuss, Mr. Cobblepot."

Oswald nodded. "Well said. Now Selina," he turned towards her "Care to enlighten me?"

Selina told Oswald the adventure at the docks, starting with their arrival, detailing the fight between her and Eddie and ending with his and the henchmen's escape. Oswald sat silently throughout her narration, eyes narrowed in thought. When she finished, he lit his cigarette and took a long drag.

"This is concerning," Oswald said. "Are you certain that he wasn't being coerced in anyway?"

"He wasn't. At least, not physically. He was there under his own power."

"And the four men who were with him?"

Selina sighed. "Never saw them before in my life. Come to think of it, they were kind of behaving like he did."

"You shouldn't have gotten rid of the guy in the boss's apartment," Query cut in. "He could tell us more."

Selina looked over her shoulder at her. "If you want to go get him, be my guest. I think he told me and Dr. Young all he was going to."

Query was about to retort when Oswald held up his hand, cutting her off. "Let's review what we know: Monday morning, he receives a visit from a Mrs. Bierko, was it Dr. Young?"

Dr. Young nodded. "Yes, about her missing daughter, Kimberly."

Oswald continued. "Later that day, he calls her back, saying that he has a lead. Dr. Young hypothesizes that he recognized an address he gave her from his past and that this is connected to the lead."

Dr. Young opened the case file and passed it to Query. "Is this an address you recognize?"

Query took a quick look, then shook her head and passed it back to her. "Nope. We know where most of his old hideouts are, but there were a few he kept from us. He used to like having a few to himself."

"Moving on," Oswald said. "He tells his secretary to hold any calls for him, then he disappears for four days. Tonight, he reappears, calls an informant  and tells him to go to his abode and grab his spare hat. He does so, and then he has an unfortunate encounter with Ms. Kyle and Dr. Young here."

Selina smirked at the memory, then jumped in. "He tells us he's talked to Eddie and that he's waiting on him at the docks. That's where we find him, except instead of answering our questions, he attacks me. And so here we are."

"Here we are," Oswald repeated. "We have two questions to ask: What happened to Edward during those four days to make him the way he was tonight? And where is he now?"

"And what happened to Kimberly Bierko," Dr. Young added. "I'm convinced that whatever happened to her started all of this." Selina nodded in agreement. It all started with the girl.

"It seems plausible," Oswald conceded. "But her disappearance, however unfortunate, doesn't explain Edward's behavior tonight. Edward's certainly capable of violence, but he's vocal when he does it."

"Are you sure that even was Eddie?" Echo asked. "Maybe Clayface was impersonating him."

"No," Selina shook her head. "I managed to hurt him. Karlo could shrug off anything I do to him. Besides, he'd be overplaying Eddie. The Eddie I saw was almost completely shut down." She glanced over at Dr. Young. "You're the shrink, what do you think?"

Dr. Young bit her lip. "I'm not sure. I've never seen him in that state before. It could be a psychotic break, or maybe he was in some kind of fugue state. Whatever it was, he clearly wasn't in his right mind."

Not in his right mind. That was the understatement of the year. _Thanks for that diagnosis Doc_. Selina remembered when she'd had Eddie on the ground, when he'd looked up at her and asked for her help. Almost pleading for her help even, until the moment had passed and he'd shut down again. Almost as if something was controlling-wait. Of course. Why didn't she see this before? "Dr. Young," Selina asked. "That missing girl. What does she look like?"

Dr. Young looked confused at first. "She's blonde with blue eyes. What does that have to do with any-"

"Do you have a picture?" Selina asked.

Dr. Young nodded and pulled out the case file. "Mrs. Bierko gave one to Mr. Nigma when she hired him." 

She handed Selina a photograph, which she almost tore form her hands. Selina took a close look at the girl in the photo. She was a little beauty all right, with light blond hair and bright blue eyes. She looked innocent, cherubic almost. Perfectly suited for a storybook. "What do you think Ozzie?" she asked, sliding the picture down his way. "Does that look like an Alice to you?"

Oswald took one look at the photo and scowled. "Yes my dear. Yes she does."

"Alice?" Dr. Young repeated. "Wait, are you thinking-"

Selina clenched her fist. "Jervis Tetch." she growled out. "It all makes sense. That address Eddie underlined in his case notes must have been one Jervis used in the past. That's how Eddie found out he was behind the disappearance. That's the lead he told Mrs. Bierko about."

"He must have gone to wherever Tetch was to confront him," Dr. Young interjected. "They were on good terms before his reformation. Maybe he thought he could convince him to let her go. But something went wrong and he wound up under Tetch's control. That's where he's been the last four days. That's why he attacked you at the docks."

Four days under Tetch's mind control...Jesus. Was Eddie aware? He had asked her for help before he'd punched her. There must be one part of his mind desperately trying to break free. A chill went up her spine. _If I'd never decided to go see him at his office,_ Selina thought. _We wouldn't have found out about this. Until or unless Jervis decided to use him for some scheme._

Selina looked up to meet the faces of the other people at the table. Oswald's mouth was drawn into a straight line, while Query and Echo looked murderous. Dr. Young looked shaken as she met Selina's gaze. She must have had the same thought that she had. "Ozzie," Selina began. "You knew Tetch was out. Do you know where he's staying?"

"I don't, I'm afraid," Oswald answered. "I'll tell my men to be on the look out for him immediately." He leaned over to pick up his phone and make a call, when it rang, making the people at the table jump. Oswald picked up the phone, face thunderous.

"I told you, I don't want to be-" his face abruptly drained of color. "Edward? Is that you?"

Selina straightened in her chair. "Is that him?" she asked Oswald. 

Oswald put a finger to his lips. Selina took the hint and sat back down. Query and Echo were leaning in to listen in, while Dr. Young had pulled a notebook and pen out of her bag.

"Are you alright man? Where have you been-what was that?" Oswald's face took on a confused expression. Selina began to feel on edge. If Eddie was calling them and her hunch was right, Jervis had to be aware of what had happened at the docks. This would be their last, best chance at finding Eddie before Jervis moved him or worse. 

"What do you mean, you're leaving? Where are you-Edward? Edward!" Oswald's face fell as he hung up the phone. "He hung up on me," he said. "I think you're absolutely right Selina. He sounded robotic. If Tetch doesn't have him under mind control, I'll eat my monocle."

"What did he say?" Query asked.

"He said, and I quote: 'I'm leaving for two weeks. I'm going north to find this broad. Don't look for me.'"

 "I'm leaving..." Dr. Young murmured as she transcribed the call. "For two weeks. I'm going north to find this broad." As she finished writing, Dr. Young looked at Oswald. "That's all he said? Are you sure?"

Oswald bristled a bit. "Of course my dear."

Dr. Young absently nodded and studied the notes. Selina walked over to her seat and leaned over her shoulder. "You think there's a clue in there Doc?"

Dr. Young waved her away. "Maybe. Let me take a look at this." Dr. Young leaned back in in study the paper.

"This is stupid," Selina heard Echo complain. "We should be busting down the door of every hideout Tetch's ever had. That's how we'll find Eddie."

"There's no time for that," Selina argued. "Jervis has to know by now that we're on to him. He's not going to be using anyplace we know of and by the time we get through that list, he could go deeper underground or leave Gotham entirely."

"For two weeks...north to find the broad..." Dr. Young whispered, seeming not to hear the commotion around her.

"Or we could flush him out of hiding!" Echo shouted back. "If he panics, he'll make a mistake and we'll nab him!"

"You're forgetting one critical fact my dear," Oswald added. "If we cause too much trouble, we won't just be alerting Tetch. We'll be alerting GCPD and Batman. If they see Edward with Tetch, they'll likely come to the wrong conclusion."

"Which is probably what the little rat's counting on," Query muttered.

"For two weeks," Dr. Young spoke again, a little louder this time.

Echo turned her attention from Selina and Oswald to the doctor. "Will you stop looking at that and do something useful!?"

Dr. Young didn't respond, too engrossed by whatever was going through her head. "Wait...what if 'for' is a homonym?"

Now Selina turned to look at the doctor. "What now?"

Dr. Young didn't respond, writing something down on the paper. "For is-Oh my God! It's a riddle!"

Selina looked down at the paper. Dr. Young had crossed out 'for' and instead had written 'four'. Every other word besides North and Broad had a line drawn through it, leaving one sentence: Four Two North Broad. It took Selina a moment to spot what the doctor meant, but realization soon dawned on her. "42 North Broad," Selina read out. "You're right Doc. You're right." Selina felt a grin come to her face. Eddie was just aware enough to send them a message to find him. She turned to Oswald. "Ozzie, do you know that address?"

Oswald's eyes lit up. "It's in the Bowery. Actually, it's just a 10 minute drive from here."

That was all Query and Echo needed to hear. The two of them got out of their seats and turned to Selina. "You ready to go?"

Selina cracked her knuckles. Jervis Tetch had an overdue appointment with the business end of her whip. "Ready." She looked down at where Dr. Young was sitting. She was surprised by the expression on her face. Instead of looking jubilant that she'd unraveled Eddie's location, or even relief, she looked concerned. Her eyes were downcast. "What the matter with you?" Selina asked her. 

Dr. Young looked up at her with a start. "It's nothing," she said quickly. "I'm coming with you."

"Are you sure that's wise Dr. Young?" Oswald asked her. 

Dr. Young looked like she wanted to reconsider but she firmly nodded. "Yes. I've come this far. I want to see this through to the end."

Echo tapped her foot impatiently. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" She and Query left the room in a hurry. Selina let Dr. Young pass before she turned to Oswald. 

"I think we can handle it, but just in case,"

Oswald nodded. "I'll alert my men to scope out the building. If need be, I can send them in. Good luck."

Selina turned then and followed the other women out the door. _Hang on Eddie,_ she thought. _It's almost over._


	10. Jervis Tetch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To save Eddie, Selina has to confront Jervis Tetch and her own past actions.

Selina watched out the passenger window carefully as Dr. Young drove down Broad Avenue. The streets were clear, as they often were this late at night in this part of town. This suited Selina just fine. The fewer witnesses out, the better. She kept her eyes focused on the addresses as they passed by. 30, 34, 38-

"Here!" she pointed. Dr. Young pulled the car over. 42 North Broad was directly in front of Selina as she opened her passenger door. 

"Find some place to park your car and meet me back here," Selina told her. "I'm going to scout the place." 

Dr. Young nodded and drove further down the block. Selina stood in front of the building. It was a run down, two story building that may have been a townhouse, once upon a time. Now it looked as if it had been abandoned for years. Selina took a few cautious steps towards the front door. It was dark out in the streets, with the only light coming from neon punk 'Live Nudes' sign that flashed every few seconds.  _Probably what Jervis was using to attract henchmen,_ Selina thought. Briefly, she wondered if the man she'd fought on the pier was also under mind control. Was it wrong not to feel bad about that even if he was?

"Kyle?"

Selina turned her head and nodded in greeting at Query and Echo. The two women walked towards her. Both were armed. Echo looked around. "Where's the doctor?"

"I'm here," Dr. Young said, jogging up. "I parked my care down a side street. I saw a few more cars pull up at the intersection of Broad and Main."

"Ozzie said he'd send a few of his guys to surround the place," Selina said. "They'll catch Jervis and friends if they try to run."

Query walked up towards the front door. "We ready?"

Echo nodded. "Ready."

Before Selina turned her attention to the lock on the front door, she gave Dr. Young a final look. "Last chance to back out Doc. Are you sure you want to do this? It could get ugly."

Dr. Young rolled her eyes. "I survived a riot at Arkham Asylum, being held at knifepoint by Victor Zsasz and almost being blown up by the Joker. Let's go." 

Selina shrugged. "Alright Doc. Don't say I didn't warn you." With that, she focused on the lock on the front door. It was a standard lock for this sort of building. Child's play to pick. It only took her moments to pick the lock. She pushed the door open slowly, in case there was an alarm. When no noise went off, she gestured to the three women behind her. "Shall we ladies?"

Query stepped forward. "Echo and I will take point. Dr. Young, you hang back. If we run into any trouble, run and get Cobblepot's guys."

Dr. Young nodded. "Understood."

No more words were said as the four women entered the townhouse. From what Selina could tell, they were in a cramped hallway. As they made their way deeper into the building, the only light that illuminated their path came from the flashing neon light outside. There was no sound coming from anywhere in the building. It was getting eerie. 

"Are you sure that this is the place Doc?" Echo asked. "It doesn't look like anyone's been here for years."

"I'm positive," Dr. Young said. "The door was locked, wasn't it? This building's being used for something."

Selina agreed with her, but a sinking feeling came over her. Maybe Jervis and Eddie had been here, but they were too late. Suddenly, Query paused and held her arm out.

"Quiet!" she hissed. "You hear that?"

Selina stopped and listened. It was faint, but she could hear what sounded like muffled sobbing at the end of the hall. 

"Is that…crying?" Dr. Young asked.

Query didn't respond, instead raising her firearm. "Let's go slowly."

Query and Echo stalked towards the room at the end of the hallway, Selina right behind them. The hallway opened up to a large room that must have been a living room. It was empty, save for a few bookshelves and a ratty looking sofa...and a large cage in the middle of the room. There, sitting on a stool was a young blonde woman in a blue dress and white apron, holding her face in her hands and weeping. Selina realized there was only one person this could be.

"Kimberly Bierko?" 

The young woman looked up, her face red and tear streaked. "Help me!" She cried out. "Please!'

Dr. Young pushed past the other women and rushed over to the cage. "Are you alright?"

Kimberly nodded, then began to cry again. "Thank God, I thought no one would find me."

"Are you alone?" Selina asked.

Kimberly shook her head. "The Mad Hatter and his men are upstairs," she said pointing to the staircase behind her. "He's got Mr. Nigma up there too!"

Query and Echo stalked forward, eyes on the staircase. Selina walked up to the cage door. There was an electric lock on it, one that Selina didn't have the expertise or equipment to hack. No prizes for guessing where Jervis got it from. Dr. Young kept her attention focused on Kimberly. "What happened?" she asked.

Kimberly took a shuddering breath, than began to recount her story. "I saw an ad for a new beauty salon in the Bowery, but when I went to the address, he was there, in a car. He asked me to come along with him to a tea party." She paused. "I thought it was weird, but he said he'd pay me. He brought me here and made me put on this dress. He kept calling me Alice. It was really creepy."

"Did he hurt you?" Dr. Young asked.

"No, he never touched me. After the tea party though, he wouldn't let me leave. I begged to go, but he wouldn't listen. When I tried to run, he had one of his guys lock me in here. He said we had to wait for Dormouse to show up."

Dr. Young furrowed her brow. "Dormouse?"

"That's Jervis' old nickname for Eddie," Selina explained. "What happened when Nigma showed up?"

"Mr. Nigma told him he had to let me go. The Mad Hatter tried to get him to stay and have a tea party and said something about a March Hare. Mr. Nigma got really upset. He started yelling at him, saying he was past this and that he needed to take me back. The Mad Hatter said he would, then he gave Mr. Nigma a cup of tea."

Selina brought her hand up to her forehead.  _Oh Eddie, you really shouldn't have done that._ "And the tea was drugged, right?"

Kimberly nodded. "He passed out right on the table. The Mad Hatter told his men to take him upstairs and make him comfortable. The next time I saw Mr. Nigma, he was all spaced out, like Hatter's guys. I screamed for him to help me, but it was like he couldn't hear me. Then tonight Mad Hatter let him go to get his things. He said Dormouse was going to be staying here from now on."

Selina clenched her fist. "I doubt that," she said. She turned her attention to the staircase. "Time to clean Mad Hatter's clock."

"Wait!" Dr. Young called out. "What about her?"

Query looked over disinterested at the cage. "What about her?"

"We can't just leave her like this!"

Selina let out an impatient sigh and took another look at the lock. She tried shaking it, only to get a small jolt of electricity. "Jesus!" she hissed out, drawing her hand back. What the Hell was up with Eddie and electricity? "Query, Echo, either of you know how to get this open?"

Query walked over to take a look. "It's an old design of the bosses'," she said. "Only one way to get that open. Stand back." She pointed her gun at the lock. Before Selina or Dr. Young could stop her, she shot it. The lock flickered off and the cage door fell open. Kimberly Bierko stumbled out, collapsing into Dr. Young's arms. The gunshot echoed throughout the house and the five women could hear movement from upstairs. The sound of footsteps

Selina glared at Query. "So much for the element of surprise," she snapped. 

Query just shrugged at her. A voice reached their ears then. "Alice?" 

Kimberly grabbed onto Dr. Young tightly. "Oh God, don't let him take me again!" Selina looked at Dr. Young and gestured towards the way they came in.

"Time for you two to go Doc. We'll cover you."

Kimberly didn't need to be told twice as she made a run for the exit. Dr. Young hesitated for a moment. Selina looked back at her impatiently. "Get going! We'll get Eddie!"

Dr. Young nodded. "Be careful," she said. She ran towards the hallway just as six large men made their way down the stairs, each of them wearing a party hat. Selina recognized three of them as the men who were with Eddie at the docks. She unfurled her whip and took on a guarded position. The men said nothing as they advanced towards them, which made Selina guess that they were as brainwashed as Eddie was.

"Don't shoot them if you don't have to," Selina warned Query and Echo as they got into defensive stances. "Last thing Eddie needs is to be surrounded by dead bodies."

Query nodded. "Hand to hand suits me just fine." The six men then rushed towards them. Query stepped forward and drove her fist directly into the face of the man in front, breaking his nose. She then swept her leg out to knock down the man to his left. Echo quickly came up from behind her to take on the man to her right, launching herself at him. The pathway to the stairs was now clear.

"Kyle!" she yelled out. "We'll take them! Get upstairs and get Eddie!"

Selina nodded and charged up the stairs, leaving Query and Echo to their brawl. Personal feelings aside, she'd never complain about the two of them again. At the top of the stairs, Selina paused to gather her bearings. There was a door slightly ajar to the left of her and she could hear faint, almost manic muttering in the room within.

_"Will you walk a little faster?" said a whiting to a snail,_

_"There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail._  
_See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!_  
_They are waiting on the shingle – will you come and join the dance?_  
_Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?_

_Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?"_

Keeping a firm grip on her whip handle, Selina pushed the door opened and walked inside.

Selina gasped as she entered the room. It was bright, with the walls completely painted with flowers and characters from Alice in Wonderland. At the far end of the room, Selina could see a large table, with a tea set all laid out. At the head of the table, pouring a cup of tea and humming sat Jervis Tetch, the Mad Hatter himself. He gave her a jaunty little wave when he noticed her.

"Twinkle, twinkle little Cat! How I wonder what you're at!"

Selina almost didn't register the greeting. Her attention was taken by the man sitting next to Jervis, wearing an ornate green jacket and a blank, unseeing expression on his face. She ran towards him. "Eddie!" She stopped short when Jervis slammed down his cup of tea.

"How very rude!" He tutted. "You're interrupting our tea party!"

Selina took her eyes off of Eddie and glared at Tetch. "Alright Jervis, you've had your fun. Let Eddie go right now and that'll be the end of it. I'll let you walk out of here." Well, she would. Selina couldn't exactly say the same for Query and Echo.

Jervis just shook his head. "No, no, I don't think I will. Dormouse is quite happy here with me. And so was Alice, before you and your naughty friends spirited her away!"

"Happy?" Selina repeated. "Happy!? Jervis, look at him!" Eddie continued to sit there, motionless. If he had any awareness of what was going on around him, he showed no signs of it. Selina almost hoped that he didn't. Better for him to be locked in some fantasy land Jervis had cooked up for him than to be aware of not being in control of his own body. "He's almost catatonic!" She continued, waving her hand in front of Eddie's face for emphasis.

Jervis' face fell slightly and he reached a hand out to pet Eddie's shoulder. The gesture made Selina's skin crawl. "It's only for a little while," he whispered. "Only for a little while. You'll forgive me for this someday Dormouse."

Selina watched him carefully and noticed for the first time how wide eyed and disheveled Jervis looked. Even at his most lucid, Jervis was a Rogue that Selina was never quite able to use her wiles on and he was in no state for her to even try that now. She had to be careful in how she approached him.

"I don't get it Jervis. Why are you doing this? What did Eddie do to you to make you this angry at him?"

Jervis abruptly took his hand off of Eddie and cocked his head quizzically at her. "Angry?" He asked her. "I'm not angry at him. Dormouse is my dear friend, my last friend."

"You put all of your friends under mind control Jervis, or just the reformed geniuses you can use for a scheme?"

His face twisted into a scowl then. "You of all people should talk!" He screeched. "Did you or did you not risk his life to save your own hide not three months ago? And Cobblepot! Cobblepot says he's his friend, but he's a liar! He only wants to use him for his own ends! I told Dormouse so, I told him, but he wouldn't listen, he couldn't see who his real enemies were! I had no other choice! I'm not using him, Ms. Kyle," he pointed his finger at her. "I'm protecting him from the likes of you!"

Selina was dumbfounded. "Me?" She repeated. "Eddie doesn't need to be protected from me!"

Jervis furiously shook his head. "Oh yes he does," he seethed. "You've broken his heart twice, you've played with him when it was convenient for you then you threw him away.  _He_  told me so, he's told me all I need to know about you! I am the only real friend Dormouse has now. I'll protect him. I'll keep him happy in my own little wonderland. It's what March Hare would have wanted."

March Hare? Wait, did he mean-"Crane?" Selina asked. "Is that who you're talking about?"

Jervis nodded frantically. "Yes, yes. We were three friends you see. Me, March Hare and Dormouse." Jervis’ voice hitched as tears came to his eyes. "March Hare is dead now. Dormouse was gone. But I've got him back and this time, no one will take him away or hurt him. I'll keep him safe."

"You think this would make Crane happy Jervis?" Selina asked. "Tell me, what exactly would Jonathan say if he saw you with Eddie like this?"

Selina actually didn't know herself what Crane would have done, but she remembered all too clearly how possessive he had been. The flicker of doubt and fear that appeared on Jervis' face told her that he remembered too. Just as soon as it came however, he shook it off. "He'd understand!" Jervis wailed, his voice almost cracking. "He knew how important it was to keep him safe! You're the only person in this room who's hurt Dormouse and I won't let you do it again!"

Selina opened her mouth to retort but the words wouldn't come as the pieces from the last day and a half began to fall into place. The missing pictures from Eddie's apartment, the caseload he'd taken in in the past few months, his withdrawal from anyone who could be considered part of his support group...it all had to be set off by something. That something, Selina realized, was her. She knew what she had to do to talk Jervis down. She'd known all along what she'd needed to say, she just couldn't admit to it.

"You're right," Selina breathed out. "You're right Jervis. I betrayed Eddie's trust. I put him in danger. I hurt Eddie. I didn't realize how bad I did until tonight."

Jervis didn't lower his guard, instead narrowing his eyes at Selina. When he didn't say anything, she continued. "I went to his office because I wanted to clear the air with him, but most of all, I wanted the chance to apologize to him. I want to do everything I need to do to make it right." Selina kept her eyes focused on Eddie, hoping that on some level, he could hear her. "And if he can't forgive me, if he doesn't want me in his life anymore, then so be it. I'll accept it." Selina turned her gaze to Jervis now. "But that has to be  _his_  decision Jervis. Not mine and sure as Hell not yours. If you want to help Eddie, then let him make his own choices and  _let him go_."

Jervis chewed the bottom of his lip. "You...really don't want to hurt Dormouse?"

Selina nodded.  _Almost there._ "Really Jervis. Cross my heart."

Jervis hesitated, then his face broke out into a grin. " _Prove it._ " He leaned down to whisper in Eddie's ear. "Dormouse, here's that awful woman who tricked you! Take care of her."

Eddie got up out of his seat, picked up his cane where it had lain against the wall and climbed over the table to lunge at Selina. She jumped back, realizing exactly what Jervis intended. "You son of a bitch," she hissed. "You say that you're Eddie's friend and you're using him as a human shield? I thought you were above this, Tetch."

Jervis sat back down in his chair and poured himself another cup of tea. "I thought you said you didn't want to hurt him my dear," he laughed. "Why don't you just leave us be?"

Selina unfurled her whip. "Not a chance Jervis," she said. "Query and Echo are downstairs taking care of your gang and Ozzie's got his men surrounding the place. There's only one way this is going to end for you."

Jervis' face paled, but he laughed again. "And only one way it'll end for you! Kill her!"

Eddie lunged forward again, swinging his blade at her. Selina dodged it effortlessly. Just like at the pier, she realized. She knew there was no way Eddie could beat her in a fight, but now that she knew what was going on, somewhat, there was no way in Hell she was going to actually physically hurt him. The best way out of this was to get him back to his senses, somehow. "Eddie!" She yelled out. "If you can hear me, fight it!" 

Eddie made no sign that he had heard her, lunging towards her again. Selina swore under her breath. That clearly wasn't going to work. Now, if she were Jervis Tetch, where would she place a microchip? Selina's gaze went to Eddie's ubiquitous green hat. She readied her whip. She had to make the most of this shot and just hope that she didn't lacerate his scalp. With a crack of her whip, she knocked his hat clear off, sending it flying across the room.

"Eddie!" She yelled out. "You ok?"

Eddie paused for a brief moment and lunged towards her again. "Dammit!" she cursed. She could hear Jervis chortling at the table.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"

Selina ground her teeth. Okay, if the chip wasn't in the hat, where could it be? She studied every detail of Eddie's costume as she stalked towards her. It wouldn't be in his jacket she thought. Too unprotected. Jervis couldn't have implanted it inside of Eddie, could he have? She prepared to dodge again as Eddie came with striking distance of her again. He was close enough that she could stare almost straight into his eyes, a dull, expressionless green behind the purple domino mask-

 _The mask_. The mask! She'd wondered why Jervis would go through the trouble to take his glasses and that was the perfect reason why. With a quick movement, she aimed her whip at his right hand, sending the cane to the ground. Before he had any time to react, she dropped the whip and grabbed the front of his shirt with both hands.

 _I'd better be right about this_ , she thought. As he tried to pull away from her, she brought her hands to his face and ripped the mask off. As she did, he pushed her back. Selina tensed, hoping that she had done enough.

Edward blinked once. Then twice. As he focused on her, all the life and intelligence came flooding back to his face. Then he brought his hand up to his eyes and groaned. "Selina?" he murmured. "What are you doing here?" he took look around the room. "What am I doing here?" He lowered his gaze to his person and pulled at the garish coat in disgust. "Where the Hell did this coat come from!?"

Selina's shoulders sagged in relief and she began to laugh. "Welcome back Eddie."


	11. Edward Nigma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward has been freed from Tetch's control, but that was only half the battle.

Eddie didn't respond to Selina, instead taking a look at the room they were in. He staggered a bit, then brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Selina didn't move towards him, deciding to let him find his bearing. "Do you remember what happened?" She asked him.

Eddie stopped to think, then slowly nodded. "I got a case from a woman about her daughter...Kimberly Bierko. Her mother gave me an address...it was..." Edward's eyes flashed open and he whirled to the tea table. Jervis had remained frozen to his spot since Selina had freed Eddie, eyes wide and face pale. Edward narrowed his eyes. " _You_." 

Jervis seemed to come to life then, dropping the tea pot and making a dash around the table towards the door. Eddie quickly cut him off, his eyes glaring daggers into the smaller Rogue. He backed him against the wall. Jervis looked up at Eddie and held his hands up submissively. "Now, now, Edward-"

"You _son of a bitch_." Eddie hissed out. Selina couldn't recall the last time she'd seen him so furious. "How _dare_ you."

Jervis slowly back away from Eddie. "I never meant you any harm, I swear it Dormouse-"

"Don't you _call_ me that!" Eddie nearly screamed, grabbing Jervis by his lapels. He brought the man up to his eye level and shook him. "You have no right to call me that! Not after what you did to me!"

Jervis only whimpered in response. Eddie continued to glare at him, nostrils flaring. "How long?" he suddenly asked. "How long was I under his control?"

"You disappeared on Monday night," Selina answered. "It's Friday night-early Saturday morning now."

"Four days." He said. "Four days. What did you make me do?" He shook Jervis hard again. "What did you make me do!?"

"Nothing! I swear it Edward! I was only trying to help you!"

"Help me? Help me!? You took control of my mind! You _violated_ me! If anyone at GCPD had seen-Do you have any idea what you almost _did_ to me!?" Jervis whimpered out an incoherent plea. Eddie took a deep, shaky breath, calming himself somewhat. Selina continued to stand by and watch. She wouldn't let Eddie kill Jervis, but she didn't think a little bruising would go amiss. "What did I do to you?" She heard Eddie ask. She was struck by how quickly his tone had gone from hysterical anger to resignation. "What did I do to you?" Eddie asked Jervis again. "Did you just not want to give up the Bierko girl, or was this revenge for something I did when I was the Riddler? What was it?"

Jervis shook his head. "It wasn't like that at all Edward. I mean it, I was only trying to help you. I've followed you since you've reformed, do you know that? I've seen you on the news and every time I do, I realize just how unhappy you really are."

Eddie set Jervis down then. Selina couldn't see his facial expression, but she could guess that he was stunned. When he didn't formulate a response, Jervis continued. "You say that you're happy, but you were never a good liar Edward. You've lost your muchness. You used to have such a spark when you were still with me and March Hare and all the rest. We were all friends then, don't you remember? And you and March Hare were so close-"

" _Don't."_ Eddie interrupted, his voice shaking. Selina realized with a start that he was close to tears. "Jervis, _please."_

A light seemed to go off in Jervis' brain. "You-wait. It's not a trick? You really don't remember?" The expression on his face turned from confused fear to pity. "Oh, _Dormouse_." 

Eddie didn't respond, instead bringing up a hand to his face. Selina walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Eddie are you-"

Eddie turned at her then and furiously wiped the back of his hand across his eyes. It was too late, for Selina had seen the tears.  "Don't touch me," he hissed at her. "Wasn't Dr. Aesop enough for you? You wanted to see me completely debased too?"

Selina resisted the urge to slap Eddie. "Really Eddie? Is that the thanks I get for spending the last two days busting my ass to save you?"

"To save me," Eddie repeated, mocking her. "More like saving your favorite punching bag. What do you need this time? Did Ivy get buried under toxic fertilizer? Harley's gone back to the Joker? Some jewels at the museum happened to catch your eye?"

Selina looked Eddie straight in the eyes. "You know me Eddie. You know what kind of person I am. Do you really think I would've gone through all this trouble to find you if there wasn't a little part of me that cared about you?"

Eddie opened his mouth to retort, but no words came out. His shoulders slumped. "I thought I knew you," he said softly. "But that business with Aesop... You know, I expected nothing less from Ivy, and I was prepared for it from Harley. But you Selina? I thought the two of us were past all that." He shook his head. "I was just fooling myself. About you, about everything else. Maybe Jervis is right, maybe I'd be better off in whatever Wonderland he has in mind than where I am now."

Selina tensed. "Eddie," she said slowly. "What are you saying?"

Eddie ran a shaky hand through his hair, mussed though it already was. Selina realized what she was dealing with wasn't an angry Eddie, or a vengeful one as she might have expected, but an emotionally vulnerable one. The rarest and potentially the most dangerous Eddie of them all. "When I woke up from my coma," he started. "And I lost my memory and my 'compulsions' as the good doctor put it, everyone thought I'd been given some sort of Godsend." His face twisted into a bitter scowl. "A Godsend! My entire life was gone! Half of Gotham despised me and I couldn't even remember why! I still can't remember half of what I did as the Riddler, let alone everything else!" 

"You were given a blank slate Ed," Selina said. "A chance to start over. Do you know how many people in our line of work would kill for that?"

"And what do I have to show for it?" Eddie asked her bitterly. "A life I can't remember, a police force counting down the days until I relapse, former colleagues and _friends-"_ He spat the last word out at her "Betraying me left and right and the one person I needed the most,is, is..." Eddie's voice hitched and trailed off as he bit his lip in a vain attempt to keep composure. Selina watched this and her heart nearly broke for Eddie. _This has been coming for a while,_ she thought. _Jervis was just the final straw._ Jervis watched from where he was still standing against the wall, his own eyes welling up. He didn't dare approach Eddie now though.

"I feel like I'm being haunted by my own ghost," Eddie said finally. "So you tell me Selina, would you kill for a life like that?"

"I know how hard this has been for you Eddie," Selina said gently. "And I know how much you lost. But I also know you've been reading into your past." Selina remembered the broken man Eddie had been before his coma and realized that although he'd come a long way in the past year, in many ways, he still was that man. "Can you really tell me that you want to go to who you used to be? And even if you do, I spoke to Harvey Dent while I was looking for you. He told me you have a target on your back. If you went back to Arkham, you wouldn't come out."

Eddie's eyes widened, then he darkly chuckled. "I shouldn't be surprised. At least Dent and his ilk are honest in how they feel about me. So I can't go forward and I can't go back. What am I supposed to do then?" He looked at her almost beseechingly. "Tell me Lina, what am I supposed to do?"

Selina said nothing. She reached out to him, her hand cupping his face. He flinched slightly at first, then leaned into the touch and clasped her hand with his own. "Why didn't you tell me you felt like this?" she asked him. "I know I hurt you Eddie. And I'm sorry for that and for the fact that I didn't apologize to you sooner. But Eddie, don't let me or Jervis be what derails you. You've come so far in the past year. Don't throw that away." Eddie said nothing in response, but looked down at his feet. She smiled at him, genuinely. "You know, you're a real piece of work Edward Nigma."

Eddie looked back up at her and had his mouth open to retort. Selina placed a finger on his lips. "Let me finish Eddie," she teased. "But you know the one thing I've always liked about you, even when I couldn't stand you? No matter what happened to you, or whatever setbacks you had, you always got back up again."

Eddie said nothing, but seemed to consider this. As he did, Selina realized that the noise from the fight downstairs had finally died down. "Sounds like Query and Echo finished up downstairs.

Eddie's eyes lit up briefly. "Nina and Deirdre are here?"

Selina grinned. "They came as soon as Ozzie told them you were in trouble. You have more friends than you think." Selina's face grew serious again. "Eddie," she said, getting his attention. "I'm serious about wanting to help you. Ozzie, Query and Echo are too. If that means helping you go back to being the Riddler, that's your decision and we'll respect it. It's up to you Eddie. What do you want?"

Eddie said nothing for a while, deep in thought. Selina held her breath. Finally, he spoke. "I want a lot of things," he said in a tired tone. "Most of which I'm not likely to get. Right now though, I want to get Tetch into custody, get Kimberly Bierko back to her mother, go home and sleep."

Selina let out a sigh of relief. She still had a lot of questions she wanted to ask him, but they could wait for now. She moved her hand from Eddie's face to pat him on the shoulder. "Good boy." Eddie rolled his eyes a bit and turned back to Tetch. He grabbed him by the shoulder and half dragged him towards the door. Eddie took a few steps towards the door, then froze. Selina turned behind to see what he was looking at and her eyes widened.

There, standing in the doorway, was Dr. Young. She said nothing to them, but from the look on her face, Selina could tell that she'd seen and heard everything. When and why had she come back?Eddie held her gaze, face pale, seemingly unable to move. Dr. Young stared back at him, as if seeing him for the first time. And in a way, Selina realized, she was. She had only ever seen him as the Riddler. She's never seen the man underneath that. There were only a handful of people who Eddie had ever let that close. Selina looked from Eddie to Dr. Young and back, not sure what she should say or do. Finally, a voice rang out from downstairs.

"Boss? Kyle? You alright up there?"

Query. At the sound of her voice, Eddie and Dr. Young seemed to break out of their trance. Dr. Young stepped forward, stopping only to pick up Eddie's hat from the floor. After pausing momentarily at the sight of Jervis Tetch, she handed the hat back to Eddie. 

"Kimberly Bierko's called the GCPD and Ms. Vance and Ms. Damfino have cleared out Tetch's men. I'd suggest you make yourself presentable."

Eddie nodded, taking the hat from her. Satisfied, Dr. Young went back out through the door. Eddie pushed Jervis out behind her without a word. Selina followed wondering, not for the first time in the past day, exactly what had passed between the two.

 

* * *

An hour later, Selina stood in the fire escape of the building next door and watched the scene unfold. The formerly vacant street was filled with cop cars, Arkham personnel taking custody of Tetch and a news crew for good measure. Kimberly Bierko was giving her statement to a detective with Dr. Young beside her. Selina looked to the alleyway beneath her. Query and Echo were waiting, well out of sight of the GCPD and any trouble they might run into with their outstanding warrants. Eddie himself was next to Kimberly, giving a statement to Detective Bullock. Neither man looked thrilled to be in the prescence of the other. Selina's attention was then captured by the sight of a middle aged blonde woman making her way through the crowd in a rush to get to Kimberly. Her mother no doubt. Kimberly opened her arms as she saw her mother approached and the two women collapsed into sobs as they embraced. The woman then turned her attention to Eddie. Selina was too far away to make out the exact words, but the woman's heartfelt embrace of Eddie told her all that she needed to know. She soon turned her attention back to her daughter. Selina smirked a bit at Eddie's confused expression. 

Another man however walked up to Eddie then. He was tall, bald and stood with an imposing presence. His white coat told Selina that he was probably an Arkham doctor. When Eddie saw him, he froze to his spot. Selina frowned. Time to get a closer look. She quietly jumped down to the ground and walked towards the edge of the building next to where Query and Echo stood. She now had the opportunity to listen in.

"Mr. Nigma," the doctor said, in a deep, accented voice. "It's been a while."

"Dr. Strange," Eddie answered in a clipped tone. "You're still sounding as ghoulish as ever."

Dr. Strange chuckled. "Charming. It seems you've once again successfully concluded a case. Well done." There was a pause and then Selina heard the doctor continue. "Are you quite alright, and. Nigma? You're not looking well."

"Well, it's grueling work, being a genius private investigator. You'd know that if you were either. Anyway, it's nothing a good night's sleep can't cure."

Dr. Strange laughed again. "Is that all? You truly are more resilient than people say, if you can shrug off being under the Mad Hatter's control that easily."

Selina froze. Eddie had only just told Bullock what had happened. How could this doctor have found out-no. Selina turned her head around the corner to look. Eddie's face as neutral, but it had lost color. Dr. Strange was looking over him now. Bullock had turned away to see to Tetch's men and the Bierko women were being seen to by a paramedic. The only person who was paying attention to Eddie and this Dr. Strange was Dr. Young and she was looking intently at them.

"I don't think you're well, Mr. Nigma. I think you would benefit from some...observation."

Eddie backed away from Strange, eyes blazing. "You really are a moron Strange, if you think I'm letting you get anywhere near me," he hissed, pointing a finger at him.

"You're becoming hysterical Mr. Nigma. Calm yourself."

"Don't you tell me what to do Strange!" Eddie shouted. This attracted Bullock's attention.

"What the Hell's going on here?" he asked, looking from Eddie to Strange.

"Mr. Nigma is unwell, detective Bullock. With your permission, I would like to take him to Arkham for observation."

Bullock glared at Eddie. Selina tensed. Behind her, she could hear Query and Echo pull out their firearms. Before Bullock could say anything, someone else intervened.

"That won't be necessary," Dr. Young said, stepping forward. "I've already conducted an examination of Mr. Nigma. In my medical opinion, he's merely exhausted. He doesn't need any additional medical treatment."

It was a lie. Dr. Young hadn't anywhere near Eddie since she'd returned his hat to him. Bullock seemed to buy it though. Dr. Strange however narrowed his gaze at her.

"Dr. Young," he ground out. "It's a pleasure to see you again. Given your...history with Arkham patients, how sound is your judgement?"

Dr. Young's face flushed, but she quickly recovered. "Tell me Dr. Strange, in what capacity are you here tonight?"

Dr. Strange raised an eyebrow. "I'm here to oversee Mr. Tetch's return to Arkham. That is well within my purview."

"Yes it is," Dr. Young agreed. "Is Mr. Nigma currently a patient at Arkham?"

Strange's face became impassive. "No," he said.

"And are you currently serving as Mr. Nigma's doctor in any capacity?"

Strange's eyes darkened at the tone in her voice. Eddie meanwhile, stared at the ensuing match over him, eyes as wide as saucers.

"I see," Dr. Young answered. "Well then, since we've established that Mr. Nigma is a private citizen and that he is in no way your patient, that would mean that you have absolutely no authority to force him to seek treatment. That's entirely Mr. Nigma's call. Isn't that right, Detective Bullock?"

Bullock looked disinterested at Eddie. "You heard the lady, Nigma. You want to go get your head examined?"

Eddie shook his head vehemently. "Absolutely not."

Bullock shrugged. "Whatever. Just keep Tetch locked up this time Strange." He stalked back towards his squad car.

Dr. Strange glared at Eddie and at Dr. Young both. "You won't be so lucky next time. Either of you." He then stormed off back to where Jervis was being held. Dr. Young let out a sigh of relief when he passed. Selina could kiss that woman. 

Eddie for his part, just started questionably at her. "Why?" he asked. "Are you trying to pay me back for the memorial?"

Dr. Young shook her head. "You asked me once what it would take for people to give you the benefit of the doubt," she said to him in that cold, clinical voice of hers. "This is your benefit of the doubt. Don't waste it." She left then, going in the direction of the Bierko women. Eddie stared after her for a long while, rubbing his chin in thought. Finally, he turned and walked towards Selina, Query and Echo.

"Ready to go home boss?" Echo asked.

Eddie nodded. "God yes." 

Query raised an eyebrow at him. "You gonna tell us what that was all about?" Selina wanted to know too.

Eddie winced. "Not now Deirdre, I've had a long week."

Query huffed. "Whatever." Echo said nothing, taking Eddie by the arm and leading him towards their car. Before the three of them could leave, Selina had just one more question to ask.

"Eddie," she said. "Are we good?"

Eddie didn't hesitate forming a response. "It's a start," he said. He, Query and Echo then walked further down the alley and disappeared into the dark Gotham early morning. The more things changed...

Selina shook her head fondly. "You're a prince Eddie. A real prince." She climbed back up the fire escape and began the long trek back home. She had one hell of a story to tell Harley and Ivy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so Eddie's been freed from Jervis and his relationship with Selina is, while not entirely fixed, on the mend. But Strange is still out there and Eddie still has demons he needs to address. Thank you again to everyone who's read, left kudus or comments. I hope you've enjoyed. Stay tuned for a brief epilogue, which should be up in the next few days.


	12. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward reflects on his ordeal and makes a series of decisions.

Dr. Hugo Strange strolled down the sterile hallways of patient intake at Arkham Asylum with a dark expression on his face. He'd been overconfident and it had backfired. He'd perhaps overestimated Nigma's attachment to Tetch. He'd underestimated just how stubbornly Nigma would hold onto his reform. He hadn't accounted for Selina Kyle's conscience, or for Cobblepot's, Query's and Echo's loyalty. He hadn't accounted for Dr. Young at all. Edward Nigma it seemed had more of a support group than he had anticipated, which meant any plans to speed up his relapse would have to wait. He couldn't afford to expose himself this early. Dr. Strange glowered a bit. Nigma would no doubt start digging, if he hadn't already. He'd covered his tracks well, but if Nigma was motivated enough, it wouldn't take him too long to begin to uncover the track. Strange smiled a bit to himself. Nigma may be motivated enough, but he was easily distracted. And not even he was clever enough to fully unravel what he and his master had planned. Let Nigma have his fun a little while longer. Strange stopped in front of the cell door where Jervis Tetch was sitting. Tetch sat forlorn, with his head in his hands, mumbling some nonsense or other. " Oh Dormouse. I could tell you my adventures, beginning from this morning, but it's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then."

Strange cleared his throat. "Welcome back, Jervis."

Tetch looked up at him. "You said he'd be happy to see me," he whined. "You said he was miserable. That he needed to see a friendly face."

"And he did," Strange answered. "But I didn't tell you to take the Bierko girl. What were you thinking?"

Teth shook his head. "It wouldn't have been a tea party without an Alice. Or a dormouse, or a march hare-" Jervis began to sob again. Strange ground his teeth in impatience and disgust at the wretch before him. He ought to begin the procedure on Tetch and be done with him. Then again, he thought, Tetch, or at least his technology, could still be of use to him.

_One Week Later_

It had been an interesting week for Edward Nigma. As soon as Query and Echo had delivered him back to his apartment, he'd collapsed onto his bed and fell into a deep sleep. He'd woken up a day later, feeling more rested than he had in months. Maybe he owed Jervis Tetch some thanks after all. He'd also woken up to Query and Echo camped out in his living room, having filled up his fridge, recovered his case files from Dr. Young and taken his phone messages. When they saw him staggering into the living room, they'd scooted over to make room for him on his couch. Edward spent the rest of the day catching up with them, sharing stories about their lives since they'd separated, and fending off questions that got a little too personal. They talked well into the night. Edward had very few memories of the times he had spent with Query and Echo when they weren't on some caper, but it felt indescribably right to him.

Finally, the subject turned to what had happened with Tetch and Strange. After he told them what had happened between him and Strange, Echo had offered immediately to bring him back with them to Central City. Edward had turned her down, gently. Even if there weren't the legal and economic ramifications with moving to consider, Edward wasn't about to give Strange that kind of satisfaction. He had too many things to settle in Gotham. Query and Echo had left for Central City the following morning, with Echo making him promise that he'd stay in touch with them and Query threatening to kick his ass if he got himself kidnapped again. Edward had rolled his eyes and bid them good bye.

Edward really had missed them.

After they had left, Edward had spent a long time thinking through what had happened and had come to one conclusion. No matter how uncertain he felt in his new life, how bitter he may feel about the circumstances in which he'd obtained it, he could no longer afford to spend time wallowing in the past. Hugo Strange's implied involvement in Tetch's escapade turned conflict with him from a hypothetical to an inevitability and he couldn't afford to be anything less than at full mental capacity to deal with him. Any thoughts about his past, about the Riddler, about Jon would have to be cast aside for now. 

So he formed a plan.

First, he'd swallowed his pride and called Dr. Leland. He had a long overdue prescription refill and no doubt she'd want a progress update. He supposed he could indulge her, just the once. Next, he'd returned Oswald message and made plans to meet with him. He'd need Cobblepot's resources if he was going to expand his information network beyond the paltry crew he'd assembled from Gotham's gangs. He hesitated a bit with replaying to his next message. Selina had called him to check in and to invite him out for coffee, if he was up to it. Selina had hurt him deeply. It had helped that she had acknowledged it and yes, he supposed saving him from Tetch's mind control did make up for it, slightly, but there was a part of him that didn't think he could ever completely trust her again. He finally decided to meet with her to hear her out, if nothing else. They made plans to meet that upcoming Friday afternoon, after he made her promise to leave Harley and Ivy at home. Before he met with Selina though, he had one more visit to make.

And so, on Friday afternoon, he stood outside a familiar office door, with a journal tucked under his arm. He raised a hand to knock, then hesitated. Selina was treacherous, but at least she was a known quantity. Dr. Young however...she'd seen more than she had any right to and he had no idea how she'd treat him because of it. As much as her disdain for him had annoyed him, he thought her pity would be even worse. Edward scoffed. Was he really afraid of a former doctor? How low had he fallen? Mind made up, he knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice rang from the other side.

Edward took a breath and entered. Hopefully, the good doctor wasn't in a talkative mood. He had enough of that from Dr. Leland, thank you very much. Dr. Young didn't look up as he entered, typing away at something on her computer. "You're early Commissioner. I was just finishing typing up my report about the Bierko case."

Edward chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint you Dr. Young, but I'm not the commissioner."

Dr. Young looked up with a start. "Edward?" she asked. "What on Earth-what are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too," he answered. "I won't take up much of your time." He took a look at a photo on her desk. She was standing next to the commissioner in it. "GCPD consultant are we? I'm not surprised."

Dr. Young rose slightly from her seat. She still looked slightly surprised that he'd show up at her office again. "Was there something you needed from me?" 

Edward pulled out her journal from under the crook of his arm and held it out for her. "Here. I've been meaning to return this to you. Interesting read, though I could have done without the sarcastic footnotes. And your conclusions about Otis Flanagan leave something to be desired." He trailed off, conscious that he was babbling a bit. Dr. Young looked from her journal, to his face. Was she waiting for a trap? Finally, she gingerly took it out of his hands. 

"Was that all?" she asked.

"Yes. Well no, actually." Edward reached a hand to rub the back of his neck. He was never good at this sort of thing. "I...Query and Echo told me that you were instrumental in my recovery so...Thank you."

Dr. Young looked like she'd just watched Batman unmask himself in front of her. "You gave me back the journal you stole from me to thank me?"

Edward scowled a little bit. "What, would you rather me take you out for lunch or something?"

Dr. Young raised her hand dismissively. "No, no that won't be necessary. This was just...unexpected." She opened a desk drawer and placed her journal inside before looking back up at Edward with an expectant look on her face. "There's more, isn't there?"

"You're learning, Dr. Young," Edward said. "Actually, there's been one thing I've been wondering: how did you find me exactly?"

Dr. Young hesitated a bit, which made Edward more nervous than he wanted to admit. "I don't know if you remember, or if you had any awareness when you were indisposed by Tetch, but you called the Iceberg Lounge and left a message. There was a riddle in it that spelled out your location."

Edward's blood ran cold. He didn't remember anything that had happened while Tetch had him brainwashed, but he'd left a riddle? "Well," he said, more confident than he felt, "Clearly, Tetch's microchips were no match for my genius." Or Tetch's microchips were no match for his latent compulsions. Judging by the look on her face, Dr. Young seemed to think the latter was more likely. As annoying as her earlier disregard for him was, Edward thought her obvious concern was worse. 

"Edward," she said softly. "If you want to-"

"I've already seen your esteemed associate Dr. Leland," Edward interrupted. "I think that's more than sufficient for now." Dr. Young visibly relaxed at that. "Well then," Edward said, "I'll be off. I have places to be. People to see. The life of a private investigator you see." He turned towards the door and started to move towards it when Dr. Young's voice called him back.

"Would one of those people be Hugo Strange?"

Edward stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to face Dr. Young. She continued. "I don't remember any particular history between you two at the asylum. Why was he so adamant about you being returned to his custody? What's going on Edward?"

"You'd be better off asking him, Dr. Young," Edward answered brusquely. "Or better yet, staying out of it entirely. It's not your affair."

"I lied to Bullock to keep you away from him," Dr. Young said, her voice slightly hard. "I think I deserve some kind of explanation!"

Edward took a breath. "If you recall, I never asked you to do that."

Dr. Young sighed. "I know. But Edward, if your in some kind of trouble, maybe I can help you."

Edward considered this. The idea of having an ally in the GCPD, even one as stubborn and unpredictable as Dr. Young, was a tempting one. She'd proven at least that she could be counted on to not go running to Gordon with his shenanigans. But then he looked at her, with those cold blue eyes that looked too much like Jon's and hesitated. He was only just beginning to repair his relationships with his former friends. He didn't need the complication of a new one. Recent history had just shown him how dangerous letting someone in could be. "Riddle me this:  You can have me but cannot hold me; Gain me and quickly lose me. If treated with care I can be great, and if betrayed I will break. What am I?"

"Trust," Dr. Young answered. She met Edward's gaze dead on. "Do you trust me, Edward?"

Edward only stared at her in that calculating way of his. "I'd like to," he said softly. Before Dr. Young could formulate a response, he took off his hat and gave her a short bow. "Well, adieu Dr. Young." He rose up, placed his hat back on and turned to head out, but not before he gave her one last smirk. "Until we meet again." And with that, he left, closing her office door behind him.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! Thank you to everyone who has read my series so far. The next installment may be a little while in coming and it's going to be a lot shorter than the previous two stories, but it will introduce a character that I'm excited to write about. Here's a quick preview:
> 
> The girl shuffled a bit, twirling a lock of her red pigtail. "This sounded a lot better in my head," she mumbled. Edward was about to ask her to come to the point when she took a deep breath. "Ok," she said. "My name's Ellen Dixon." She bit down her bottom lip a bit, then continued in a rushed tone, "This is going to sound really weird...but I'm pretty sure I'm your daughter."


End file.
